Something that has always intrigued me was the idea of gossip. Some may see this as a negative term that only harms people while some studies have a different idea.
Honestly, gossip has been around since the beginning of time. Even when you think back on the classics. How do you think the Homer got so popular? Homer had to have been one big, big gossip to gain that much fame when he was talking smack about Odysseus. And don't even get me started on the whole scandal with Oedipus –– talk about family problems there.
In the article I found in Psychology Today, Dr. Drexler makes a valid point, "It is almost certain that deep in our past, a group of Mesolithic humans stood around a fresh kill, talking about someone who wasn’t holding up his end of the hunting and gathering." This "gossip" just comes so naturally to us. It even comes up subconsciously in conversation when you are talking to your bff about how Taylor got a new shirt from TJ Maxx when it totally looks like it could be from Neiman's. We often think that gossip is always negative when really, it could be positive as well. Dictionary.com defines gossip as such, "idletalkorrumor,especiallyaboutthepersonalorprivateaffairsof others." Nowhere in that definition is negativity mentioned. So why are we always so intrigued with someone else's life?
We live in a very competitive world where "having the next new thing" is the key to happiness in life. I mean think about it. How many times were you just dying to have the next new iPhone or iMac. You just had to have it so you can show it off to your friends. New iPhones work like gossip. When you have latest scoop on what happened at the party last night, everyone suddenly swarms to you because they are dying to see your new, polished gossip, just like they would do if you would have the new iPhone.
So yeah, gossip may not necessarily be a bad thing. It's just another means of us showing off. But lately our society has been downgrading rather than praising. That's why we have such a negative view on gossip. This, I believe is also due to the competition in our world today. Just look at what your job or classes look like. If something juicy or scandalous is exposed about a colleague or peer, you automatically look better than them because "you don't do what they do." You're better than that. And in the job market, although sometimes immoral, it forces everyone to be the best and nothing but the best. It keeps people motivated and the job market flowing smoothly.
Gossip has been around and will be around forever so honestly, why the useless campaigns and negativity. We're all human and we all have an opinion so why try to hide it? It's OK to be imperfect, and it's all just an opinion that should be taken with a grain of salt.
