A gossiping make-over?

[Inez Laurie-Douglas]

I was following the recent findings from supposedly scientific research suggesting that "gossip is more powerful that truth". Even though to me that conclusion was more frightening than it was surprising, I'm sitting here asking myself, is that really so? Are people really more inclined to believe a rumor even though there is crystal clear evidence to the contrary?

I also read a very interesting article written by Lea Winerman that quotes, "..gossip is more than just idle chatter. It is the key to navigating our social worlds". Someone even suggested that gossip be re-defined before being cast as negative, the way we have always perceived it. Is gossip undergoing a makeover to appear more appealing and accepting?

[P. M. Morris]

Greetings From Chicago!

I believe there is the potential for gossip to be re-defined. Generally, most gossip is derived from some element of truth. How do we define the lines between what is gossip and what is shared information?
Although, I do caution, we must be very careful in casting it as a positive thing. I believe it is not so much the message but the messenger and their delivery which distorts fact from fiction. I generally try to rely on my spirit of discernment when it come to this subject. Okay, at least most of the time.

[Shelagh Watkins]

Times they are a changing. How true. People have become hyper sensitive to the slightest criticism and the pc police are out in force laying down the law about not hurting other people's feelings. You can no longer tell people that they are wrong or that they have made a mistake because this will hurt their feelings. The irony? People have never been nosier, more aggressive, quicker to take revenge and keener to start rumours and spread gossip.

So, in the twenty-first century, you must not hurt anyone's feelings but it is okay to stalk, play practical jokes, eavesdrop, spread rumours and indulge in malicious gossip.

Don't get me started on respect!

[Julia Johnson]

Yes, our words are so powerful. Spoken and written! JULIA*

[Shelagh Watkins]

Powerful as in the Power of Persuasion? My novel highlights an over-reaction to the written word, reflecting the way things are today. In the past, people worked long hours, fought in World Wars, grew their own food and made their own entertainment. There was no time to sit in front of a television watching a houseful of ordinary people showing off for the cameras, which seems to have led to a curiosity about other people's lives that verges on the obsessive.

What a difference between then and now! My grandparents would have been appalled to think that anyone in the community was gossiping about them, whereas the youth of today want to be talked about and be the centre of attention. When they make a fuss about having their feelings hurt by words, I wonder if it isn't yet one more way to draw attention to themselves and the hurt feelings are a pretense to hide their annoyance at being ignored.

[Jaci Gwyn]

How very true. Propriety, dignity, decorum - all lost.
In many ways it is frightening.

[Inez Laurie-Douglas]

I appreciate you all sharing your views on this topic.

[Wesley Allen Mack]

We all want to believe that Gossip is just that. What I can say about gossip is that if someone takes the initative to engage in this type of bantor, they feel compelled to add their own spin on the subject. It does not have to fact based, just putting it out in the universe only assures it will perpetuate. I hear people all the time say "it' was in the paper, or on tv, so it must be true". It is a sad reality that gossip on some level is considered conversation."UGH" So by reasoning if we engage in gossip, it must be true someone said it. So So Sad is gossip. So So Sad is our world.