Gossip. Is it harmless or harmfull?
By JennPerez
@JennPerez (24)
United States
April 13, 2007 7:30am CST
Gossip. yes, we all do it. But sometimes i think that it gets a little out of hand. When someone's reputation is on the line, i think that it's not so harmless after all. I work at a place where gossip just thrives. and sometimes i laugh because there's a couple of people who are so bad at times, that they forget they told me the story already and then i listen, and they add stuff to it. Really, i think there's more important things than this. Gossip is time well wasted. Don't ya think? :)
2 people like this
4 responses
@ladyheart25 (1815)
• Philippines
13 Apr 07
I think its just ok when they spread the correct and excat news but it does happen most of the time that the news gets worse starting from a simple talk. Also not all people are able to understand and interpret the news before they tell it to others.
@Stephanie5 (2946)
• United States
13 Apr 07
I agree. But I think everyone has fallen victim to it at one time or another. I don't really think any good can come from it...I guess it depends on the situation. I try to stay as far away from it as possible. I like being out of high school...and I think gossiping should stay there! lol
@JennPerez (24)
• United States
13 Apr 07
Hahaha. yes. I agree with you there. High School is the breeding ground for gossip.
1 person likes this
@simran1430 (1790)
• India
13 Apr 07
When is gossiping morally acceptable? In order to explore
and develop a principled answer to this question, I pose the problem in a simplified, abstract form: What considerations govern what it is permissible for A to say to B about C? My approach involves first constructing
a decision tree out of questions that apply general moral
principles to any particular case. These principles filter out talk which, under normal circumstances, would be widely regarded as impermissible, such as breaches of confidence, deliberate falsehoods, or talk likely to produce more future harm than good. They also declare talk
which is not contrary to C’s wishes, or which is likely to bring about some tangible further good, to be morally acceptable.The most interesting and controversial type of case is the kind that is not resolved by any of these considerations. People who view gossip in general with suspicion would presumably hold all such talk to
be objectionable. I consider and reject several arguments in support of this view. I then look at reasons, mainly utilitarian, for declaring all such talk to be morally acceptable. I argue that these are not sufficient,
either individually or collectively, to establish this universal conclusion;there are too many additional variables rendering our moral deliberations
irreducibly complex. But they do bring out the many positive aspects of gossip that are often overlooked.
