Gossip: Evolutionary Necessity? New Study Suggests Yes
A new study found that gossip makes up 80 percent of our conversations, and CBS claims gossip is a $3 billion a year business. But who’s doing all the talking? And is there an evolutionary explanation for why we want the juicy details of celebrities and friends’ lives, or are we all just shallow and hungry for the dirt on our neighbors?
John L. Locke, author of “Eavesdropping: An Intimate History” and "Duels and Duets: Why Men and Women Talk So Differently" told The Early Show this morning that there may be an evolutionary reason why humans gossip:
If there are people that are being promiscuous or they do things that don’t reflect well on the women of the community, then women have a perfectly good right to try to police the neighborhood, and that’s frequently what they are doing when they gossip.
Dr. Nicholas Emler, the author of the gossip study, calls the practice “essential,” and told the British Science Festival: “Language evolved to allow us to gossip and develop more complex societies … In fact it is gossip that sets us apart from other animals. It is fundamental to being human. It allows us to know about people that we have never met.”
Bonnie Fuller, editor in chief of HollywoodLife.com, has argued that “Gossip is in our DNA.” She told CBS News, “When we are sharing gossip, we are really sharing information,” arguing that when we look at celebrity love lives or discuss the love lives of our friends, we are using their examples in an attempt to figure out what to do in our own lives.
Dr. Michelle Callahan, a contributor to Women’s Health, disagrees: “We put too much weight on the biological and we forget the cultural and social norms we are buying into here. It’s one thing to share information ... it’s another thing to be snarky, nosy, really attacking the person you are talking out,” she told CBS. It’s important to differentiate between bonding and bullying, sharing information and spreading misinformation.
But while we often think of gossip as tearing friendships asunder (see: “Gossip Girl”), gossip can also build stronger bonds between friends: “If you give out personal information, you elicit other personal information, which gives you something to share,” says Fuller. Callahan also pointed out to CBS that gossip is used to build status and alliances; in saying “you and I are not like that” -- in judging others, we build up ourselves.
A Dutch study on gossiping in the workplace supports Callahan’s claim. It found that employees who gossip with a few select friends become closer throughout the year, though when you gossip with too many different people, your popularity goes down and you are trusted less.
And contrary to stereotype, gossip isn’t exclusive to women. Emler’s study found that men are more likely than women to discuss the details of others’ private lives.
The difference? According to Callahan, “When women do it, they call it gossip. When men do it, they call it networking.”
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If you're going to start talking to us about others behind their backs, then you'll be doing the same behind our backs. We don't want to hear it and we won't tell you anything abuot us either.
Evolution be d@mned, back stabbers are just that.
Loading comments… Men who try to use the lame excuse about their DNA making them want to mate are just pigs, of course.
And, it is true, that if someone will gossip about others to you, they will gossip about you to others.
Obviously gossip has some value or so many people wouldn't do it. Unfortunately, it causes a great deal of pain to lots of people and isn't too far away from bullying at times.
That started my research about gossip.I agree it is a very major way of communicating that has a certain mystique to it. Gossip, a way of gathering information and perceptions, started way back when tribes had runners and the chief would call a runner into his tent to "get all the news" to be ready for war or peace or a big party. Gossip is a way of staying aware of what is going on and I do believe it has an important place in the work world. The biggest lesson we can all learn is to decide how much we can believe what we hear and what to do with the tidbits we are fed. That is where accountability comes in.
Sylvia Lafair author "Don't Bring It to Work"
And as one of the sources noted, there's a difference between sharing a piece of information and engaging in rumors. Telling someone that a particular couple is divorcing is one thing. Guessing why and spreading hearsay is something much different.
And like you said, if a person gossips to me, they're likely to gossip about me, and while I really don't do much, I still have no desire to get caught up in the drama that comes along with gossiping.
First Posted: 10/19/2011 3:23 pm EDT Updated: 12/19/2011 5:12 am EST