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Gossip involves creating and spreading rumors about individuals without their perspective. It can be positive or negative, but often lacks factual basis. Almost everyone engages in gossip, but it can ruin lives and reputations. Double-check information before passing it on.
Gossip is a broad term that is defined in many different ways. In general, gossip involves creating and repeating rumors about an individual who is not present to offer his or her perspective on the alleged events under discussion. Typically, gossip has little or no factual basis and is sometimes intended to convey a negative image of an individual. This process of rumor spreading is used in nearly every context, from reporting the movements of public figures to discussing situations involving family, friends, and acquaintances.
It’s not uncommon for people who engage in spreading gossip to not consider themselves gossips. The rationalization is that the individual is simply transmitting information that has been shared by another source and is therefore not the author of the data. Therefore, he is not responsible for the reliability of the information. Also, there may not be real malice behind the rumor. This is often the case when repeating a rumor about friends who are allegedly having a hard time with their spouse, or speculating as to why an acquaintance recently quit their job.
However, gossip is not always negative in content. Rumors about supposedly positive events or attributes of another person can be created and spread. For example, word may begin to spread that an individual is considering marrying someone she has been dating for some time. While the rumor may in fact be considered good news for those who hear it, the information may not be factual and could lead to negative consequences for the subject of the gossip.
In essence, gossip has its roots in speculation and conjecture about events or attributes of people rather than focusing solely on facts that can be easily proven. Almost everyone engages in gossip in some way. Business associates can share gossip about the people they work with. Neighbors may speculate about the private life details of other people living in the neighborhood. Even well-meaning friends can get together and discuss what they think they know about a mutual friend who isn’t there. There is no setting for human interaction that automatically precludes gossip. Rumors spread through verbal, paper and electronic communications.
While many forms of gossip are relatively harmless, gossip has the potential to ruin lives and reputations. For this reason, it’s usually a good idea to double-check all kinds of information about other people before passing it on to another person.
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