why we gossip?
@ganeshprabhuk (1722)
India
January 20, 2007 12:01am CST
I wonder why we gossip? is it because it reveals others to us? And why should others be revealed to us? Why do you want to know others? Why this extraordinary concern about others? First of all, why do we gossip? It is a form of restlessness, is it not? Like worry, it is an indication of a restless mind. Why this desire to interfere with others, to know what others are doing, saying? It is a very superficial mind that gossips, isn't it? - an inquisitive mind which is wrongly directed. The questioner seems to think that others are revealed to him by his being concerned with them - with their doings, with their thoughts, with their opinions. But do we know others if we don't know ourselves? Can we judge others, if we do not know the way of our own thinking, the way we act, the way we behave? Why this extraordinary concern over others? Is it not an escape, really, this desire to find out what others are thinking and feeling and gossiping about? Doesn't it offer an escape from ourselves? Is there not in it also the desire to interfere with others' lives? Isn't our own life sufficiently difficult, sufficiently complex, sufficiently painful, without dealing with others', interfering with others'? Is there time to think about others in that gossipy, cruel, ugly manner? Why do we do this? You know, everybody does it. Practically everybody gossips about somebody else. Why?
4 people like this
64 responses
@missybal (4490)
• United States
21 Jan 07
Well what I can say is that there is good gossip and bad gossip? The good kind is just more of a curiosity of what could be going on in someones life that you and the person you are speaking with are talking about. The old what has he/she been doing since high school? Really she married that guy? How many kids? What type of illness did they say he had? Really it is so easy to get caught up in gossip due to how curious the human mind is. I don't think there is much more reason then that. I try not to gossip but I believe the creation of a telephone just fanned the fire. People love to talk and what better then to talk about other people. I doesn't take much intellegence. And it's a conversation that can go on and on. It has also become a form of entertainment if you ask me. I don't think the question is why do we gossip... It ought to be why can't we help ourselves when it comes to getting involved with gossiping.
1 person likes this
@Golbatorix (157)
• Philippines
20 Jan 07
Why we Gossip?...for me that is absolutely Human Nature.The reason why we Gossip can be link to the Foundations of Human Knowledge:"CURIOSITY". We tend to mind others peoples business thinking that we might be getting benefits from it or we might be badly affected by it."PARANOIA". Without gossip this world can be just plain and blunt. No color at all. Gossip put some spice on to our lives. It makes us think that there is still something we dont know yet...Gossip is like the earth . It keeps on evolving.It contributes to the complexity of life.
GOSSIP= another human nature.
1 person likes this
@onesiobhan (1327)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
Some people do it because their own lives are boring.
Some people do it to try and understand people better.
Some people do it to make themselves feel better by dragging others down.
@sharksfin (1091)
• Philippines
20 Jan 07
There are many reasons why people gossip. It depends on the person's motive why he/she do it. But, the most widely known reason is boredom. When people don't have anything to do and their life becomes boring, they look for ways to make their life a little interesting. And this is by meddling on another person's activities and affairs. So, the saying goes, "An Idle Mind is a Devil's Workshop". And nothing interests anyone better than the flaws of others. Another notable reason is that talking about somebody else's mistakes makes one superior. People start thinking they are better than the rest because they don't see their own because they are currently focused on what mistakes other made. Some people gossip for the sake of getting along. Because everyone is doing it, one thinks he is forced to do it too. Why not? It's damn hard to feel left-out. While in office environment, people gossip about another who they are in competition with. When someone wants approval, he will pull another down (most of the time the one who has always been a better performer) by spreading nasty rumors. One last reason I can think of is because of jealousy. People, when jealous, would feel really bad that they don't want to fight fare anymore. They rather strike where the enemy can be defenseless.
@elaine04211231 (12)
• Philippines
21 Jan 07
I totally agree with you sharksfin. It's about being jealous of others that may lead to your insecurities. Why talk of other people personal lives? Why not open your own story instead, all your failures and frustrations. Do you think thats easy to say? So why gossip about others and not reflect on your ownself instead. Honestly gossip is not my cup of tea. Why feel relieve thinking your better and everyone else is not. Nobody is perfect lets admit we all have our dark sides and thats what we have to work out.
@teenwitch14 (54)
• Philippines
20 Jan 07
I think different people gossip for different reasons. I think it's part of human nature to be inquisitive, and gossiping is a way for us to satisfy our curiosities. It may also be because we see ourselves in similar situations to those other people we gossip about, and we need some form of support. I also think it's a way to pass time when people are bored and have nothing else to talk about.
@faylinn_chaeli (1619)
• Philippines
20 Jan 07
I agree with what you said, I think one of the best examples of gossip is the entertainment media. They are always broadcasting the life of the stars in public. I think they are the worst. And since we, the so called "viewers" are very muh interested, we are very eager to hear the latest. So, it's out of curiosity too.
@RoCKHouND (32)
• Philippines
20 Jan 07
I've come with that question already and I asked my girlfriend about it. She told me, that in this world that we live in today, perfection has it's new definition. If the people around you, don't like the way you are, are have something that you don't have, or they are simply envy of what you have, then gossip may be crossing your way. She told me that gossips against you are done by other people because they are primarily envy or against something that you have or have done. It's is really mind bugging to think but my girlfriend says that it is indeed rampant anywhere, from the village you live even to the firm that you are working. It's something that has become part of the day to day living for others, like a bad habbit that can't be stop for certain reasons.
@pinangshuk (133)
• India
20 Jan 07
i totally agree with you..people who are envious about us,gossip at our back..but they don't have the courage to do it in front of us...
@saibal06 (2575)
• India
21 Jan 07
Gossip to be very specific is a manner in which we try to express our inner self to others and check out others' inner being from. Human being is a social being and it cant survive without any company and interaction with and of other members of the society. The concept of gossip was born only to create the chance of interacting with ourselves without any specific and urgency based programme. It is an informal way of taking and giving of information that we have in our heart which needs to be distributed and shared between us as a part of the society.I would never like to call it as peeping into others selves only but as a means of unanimously greeted process of self explanation and exchanges of thoughts.
@wasim989 (2298)
• India
21 Jan 07
It is as simple as abc and that we gossip because we are social animals and if we don't gossip and don't interact with each other then we are not social animals instead we are animals because most of the animals stay away from their kind and only meet each other when they want to mate so are you getting my point and that is if we don't gossip or interact with each other then we are not social animal and we are not human being.
@katenkim (238)
• Singapore
21 Jan 07
gossiping is one's behavior that feels restless and cannot hold whats within her. sometimes, that person always thinks what was told to her then burst out to telling someone, or sometimes just some triggering event that helps them to gossip what they know
@jtmblossom (470)
• Philippines
21 Jan 07
We gossip just to know more about other person. We gossip because we wanted to listen to something and for us not to be bored.
@alvinia1 (714)
• Romania
21 Jan 07
I think, first of all, we gossip about others because we are not sufficiently interested in the process of our own thinking and of our own action. We want to see what others are doing and perhaps, to put it kindly, to imitate others. Generally, when we gossip it is to condemn others, but, stretching it charitably, it is perhaps to imitate others. Why do we want to imitate others? Doesn't it all indicate an extraordinary shallowness on our own part? It is an extraordinarily dull mind that wants excitement, and goes outside itself to get it. In other words gossip is a form of sensation, isn't it?, in which we indulge. It may be a different kind of sensation, but there is always this desire to find excitement, distraction. If one really goes into this question deeply, one comes back to oneself, which shows that one is really extraordinarily shallow and seeking excitement from outside by talking about others. Catch yourself the next time you are gossiping about somebody; if you are aware of it, it will indicate an awful lot to you about yourself. Don't cover it up by saying that you are merely inquisitive about others. It indicates restlessness, a sense of excitement, a shallowness, a lack of real, profound interest in people which has nothing to do with gossip.
@justinmackx (516)
• India
21 Jan 07
it is an human tendency.
we being a social animal.. our natural n society structure makes us to chat n gossip
@fox2965 (65)
• Russian Federation
21 Jan 07
Why we gossip.....becouse many of us like this very much....they meet person and don't know what to say and they start to gossip....becouse they know anyone like to hear stories about others....and they know that it will help them to feal better....People who always spread gossips it is people which can not contact others by another way....it's my oppinion..
@supersonic4life (63)
• Canada
21 Jan 07
we gossip because we humans intend to express our feelings and mind about people u cant help it gossip is way to express something to someone without letting the person know who originally did it
@Sir_bobby88 (8231)
• Singapore
21 Jan 07
It is human nature to gossip , especially when human life is so tough and hard already , we must find something to entertain our boring life isn't it .... we can't be like robot 24 hours working ....
@anne_143god (5387)
• Philippines
21 Jan 07
I think those people who wants to gossip other people is to make obvious first the fault of other so others will not see their own fault and insecurity. Those people that are gossiper are the most insecure and uncontented people thats why they make gossip to cover their own uncontented self and reveal the insecurity of other people for them to feel how miserable these people are where in fact if we will trace the life of those gossiper they have the most miserable life.
@kabuki (152)
• Singapore
21 Jan 07
I think it has to do with our inquisitive nature and we are always questioning why someone is behaving in a certain manner or different from us.
It could also stem from jealously and we either want to be like them or hate them.
Gossip can also be a good ice-breaker though as by commenting about others, we may find common ground and explore other interests later on.
@incomes1987 (156)
• Nicaragua
21 Jan 07
It is a culture problem. People learn i since childhood. It is a shame for our society that supposed to be superior than the old one, but with all these things we realized that is not true. We are going back and we have to stop this. People must not interfer with others life only if they ask for help
