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According to Scientficamerican.com:

Lying is among the most sophisticated and demanding accomplishments of the human brain. Children have to learn how to lie; people with certain types of frontal lobe injuries may not be able to do it.

Electrical stimulation of the prefrontal cortex appears to improve our ability to deceive. This region of the brain may, among other things, be responsible for the decision to lie or tell the truth.

Most people have trouble recognizing false statements. Some polygraph tests are better at it yet are far from perfect. Researchers are trying to use imaging methods to distinguish truth from lies. Intensified activity in the prefrontal cortex may be an indicator of the process by which we decide to lie or not—but it tells us nothing about the lie itself.*

Unfortunately today, lying has become socially acceptable. It even eases guilt in some cases. Lying is so much a part of everyday discourse that we do it without thinking about it. 60% of people can’t last 10 minutes without lying.

Why is lying wrong?

There are many reasons why people think lying is wrong; which ones resonate best with you will depend on the way you think about ethics.

• Lying is bad because a generally truthful world is a good thing: lying diminishes trust between human beings:
  • if people generally didn't tell the truth, life would become very difficult, as nobody could be trusted and nothing you heard or read could be trusted - you would have to find everything out for yourself
  • an untrusting world is also bad for liars - lying isn't much use if everyone is doing it
• Lying is bad because it treats those who are lied to as a means to achieve the liar's purpose, rather than as a valuable end in themselves
  • Many people think that it is wrong to treat people as means not ends
• Lying is bad because it makes it difficult for the person being lied to make a free and informed decision about the matter concerned
  • Lies lead people to base their decisions on false information
• Lying is bad because it cannot sensibly be made into a universal principle
  • Many people think that something should only be accepted as an ethical rule if it can be applied in every case
• Lying is bad because it's a basic moral wrong
  • Some things are fundamentally bad - lying is one of them
• Lying is bad because it's something that Good People don't do
  • Good behavior displays the virtues found in Good People
• Lying is bad because it corrupts the liar
  • Telling lies may become a habit and if a person regularly indulges in one form of wrong-doing they may well become more comfortable with wrong-doing in general
• Some religious people argue Lying is bad because it misuses the God-given gift of human communication
  • God gave humanity speech so that they could accurately share their thoughts - lying does the opposite
• Some philosophers say lying is bad because language is essential to human societies and carries the obligation to use it truthfully
  • When people use language they effectively 'make a contract' to use it in a particular way - one of the clauses of this contract is not to use language deceitfully

What harm do lies do?

Lies obviously hurt the person who is lied to (most of the time), but they can also hurt the liar, and society in general.

The person who is lied to suffers if they do find out because:

• They feel badly treated - deceived and manipulated, and regarded as a person who doesn't deserve the truth
• They see the damage they have suffered
• They doubt their own ability to assess truth and make decisions
• They become untrusting and uncertain and this too damages their ability to make free and informed choices
• They may seek revenge

The liar is hurt because:

• He has to remember the lies he's told
  • He must act in conformity with the lies
  • He may have to tell more lies to avoid being found out
• He has to be wary of those he's lied to
• His long-term credibility is at risk
  • He will probably suffer harm if he's found out
  • If he's found out, people are more likely to lie to him
  • If he's found out he's less likely to be believed in future
• His own view of his integrity is damaged
• He may find it easier to lie again or to do other wrongs

Those who tell 'good lies' don't generally suffer these consequences - although they may do so on some occasions.

Society is hurt because:

• The general level of truthfulness falls - other people may be encouraged to lie
• Lying may become a generally accepted practice in some quarters
• It becomes harder for people to trust each other or the institutions of society
• Social cohesion is weakened
• Eventually no-one is able to believe anyone else and society collapses**

So we all lie at one point or another or maybe all the time. We are still going to chalk it up to “just human nature” and maybe that’s the problem.

*https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-art-of-lying/

**http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/lying/lying_1.shtml