Absolutely, and it is completely normal. The Japanese even have this concept explicitly ingrained in their language - 'Tatemae' (socially acceptable reality) an

Absolutely, and it is completely normal. The Japanese even have this concept explicitly ingrained in their language - 'Tatemae' (socially acceptable reality) and 'Honne' (informal, personal reality) [1]. This is essentially the difference between saying "I'm fine" or "Actually, my dog just died" to a random person or to your close friend. [1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A571565 http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A571565