GOSSIP

A lot of different words are used to describe gossip. We ‘chat’, we ‘yak’, we ‘gab’, we ‘chew the fat’, and we ‘dish’. We ‘hear it through the grapevine’ and sometimes ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’. There must be something important about all this to demand such extensive and colourful words!

Let’s face it! We all do it. I am absolutely sure that very few people admit to it, but we all gossip. Some of us even relish it. Biologists analyzed some conversations and found that about 60% of the time was spent gossiping about relationships. Is gossiping good for us or bad for us? Should we feel guilty if spread stories and speculations about others?

The word ‘gossip’ first referred to godparents or a familiar acquaintance and was used to describe someone who told of a family’s news and developments. In Shakespeare’s time, a gossip was also someone who sat with a woman through childbirth, perhaps to talk to her and help her pass the time.

Now it’s defined as ‘rumour about the personal or private affairs of others’. Someone who fits this image of a gossip bears names such as ‘a blabbermouth’. They’re seen as busybodies and meddlesome.

As our communication technologies have advanced, the spread rate of our gossip has increased. Whipquick messages are around us all day long about this person or that one. Words now travel in seconds via Facebook, Twitter, blogs, email, text messages, etc.

Why do we gossip?

We all love hearing and talking about others. Frank T. McAndrew, a professor of psychology, has explored human interactions and found some patterns and possible reasons for gossip. He published an article in Scientific American summarising the theories on why we gossip and explaining some of his research findings.

Researchers theorise that life in small tribal groups may have forced our ancestors to adapt and gain some pretty sophisticated social intelligence. Imagine living among a small group of people, competing for resources and for friends and allies. Sounds a little like high school, doesn’t it? You’d have to find out who you could trust and who would make a good partner.

Among our ancestors, those who survived were those who could predict and influence the behaviour of the people around them. This took a bit of talking and a lot of listening and watching.

It helps us bond with our friends. The act of gossiping – talking, listening, sharing secrets and stories – bonds us together and helps us to form friendships and distinctive group identities. Though women more often earn the ‘gossip’ label, both genders take part in the habit equally. The study conducted by McAndrew showed that we’re all keen to hear and pass along any bad news about our rivals or any good news about our friends. Both men and women seem to prefer talking about and hearing about people of their own gender.

It teaches us lessons. Most of us relate better to stories than to raw data, and gossip is a form of storytelling. But instead of ‘Once upon a time’, we say, ‘Did you hear about so-and-so?’ By hearing and sharing these stories, we learn about the social norms and conventions of those around us. We learn how to act – and how not to act – in certain situations. Gossip can actually be a kind of punishment against those who deviate from the norms and values of a group.

In short, too much pressure can, of course, be a bad thing, and gossip has great destructive powers. People generally use gossip for their own selfish interests at the expense of others. There appears anger, shame, and manipulation in the society.

Adapted from the Med Broadcast website