If you search for quotes about gossip, you’ll find plenty of contradicting statements. They include, “Gossip is what no one claims to like, but everybody enjoys.” “Fire and swords are slow engines of destruction, compared to the tongue of a Gossip” “Gossip is the Devil's radio.” or “Gossip is when you have a malice of intent or mindless, third-party conversation to someone about someone, something you haven't said to that someone”. People love to hate it, others love to engage in it and others don’t care for it, whatever your stand is about gossiping, it’s something in life that we simply cannot change or ignore its existence.
While there’s the truth about how much damage gossip could do to a person’s life, which I agree with, gossiping is a dangerous vice that if done with malice intent, can cause serious repercussions, I’m here to provide a counterpoint concerning gossiping and how it can be as beneficial as it is harmful.
It Can Be Prevent Serious Actions
Whether you’re in a place of work, or at a family gathering, sometimes you either intentionally hear things or accidentally eavesdrop on a conversation where the topic is concerning and can make you feel triggered, you would want to share this information so you don’t explode all of a sudden and figure out how to properly react afterward.
For example, if you hear coworkers gossiping about another coworker who is your friend, you might feel compelled to share this information. However, by doing so, you could inadvertently help your friend take action against their plan and stop bad-mouthing.
It Allows People To Vent Instead of Repress
There’s some therapeutic element to gossiping with your confidant friends or family members, as it allows you to speak up and vent instead of letting what you’ve heard eat you up.
Speaking up and sharing information with your trusted friends and partner, also helps in seeing things from a different perspective, allowing you to act differently and be more cautious.
Gossip Can be Used As an Educational Method
To state that gossiping can be beneficial and educational seems impossible concept to grasp but there are several instances and studies show the benefits of gossiping.
In a study conducted by Eshin Jolly and Luke J. Chang titled "Gossip Drives Vicarious Learning and Facilitates Social Connection," the researchers explore how gossip serves two critical functions in social interactions: vicarious learning and social bonding, they concluded that gossip allows individuals to learn from others' experiences without directly engaging in those experiences themselves, helping people navigate complex social environments by providing information about others' behaviors and the consequences of various actions.
In another study called Gossip as Cultural Learning by Roy Baumeister, Liqing Zhan, and Kathleen D. Vohs wrote an example of how gossip can be educational and a preventive method as they state that Gossip is seen as a valuable tool for teaching children about dangers they may not naturally avoid, such as playing in the street. It helps communicate important safety rules through storytelling, enabling children to avoid life-threatening situations.
Gossiping Is All About Bonding
If we overlook all the reasons that might justify gossiping, there is a major reason why people engage in it: it creates a bond between people.
Looking at our daily conversations, one of the things we say is “Spill the tea” We deliberately take time off work and gather our coworkers for a gossiping session, it isn’t always centered on things that happen in the workplace, but it’s about sharing what you know or heard to your friends as a mean to share opinions and have a laugh. Even outside the workplace, we ring up our friends or gather in person to share the latest gossip to provide them with context and hope they can be able to assist us.
In short, gossiping will never go away, whether the good or the bad side of it, but we cannot ignore how sometimes gossiping can help you in one way or another.
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