गपशप भी जरूरी है सेहत के लिए ... Gossip has bad name but required for health

 

Author : Dr. P. D. GUPTA

Former Director Grade Scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India

www.daylife.page

Gossip is conversation that's light, informal, and usually about other people who are not present at the time of gossip. It can be fun to gossip about others, but no one likes it when they're the subject of gossip. You can find people just about anywhere who love to chatter about the latest rumors and stories: they're gossips who love to gossip. That’s not surprising given this activity is universal.  It’s estimated that more than 90 percent of people are one time or the other involved in this activity. Scientists have studied gossip for decades and found out that people in modern societies spend about an hour a day immersed in chin-wagging. But investigators are now approaching this fixture of social life from a new perspective. Generally, people believe that women are only ones, who are involved in gossiping, no, it’s not true men are equally involved in this activity.

Tianjun Sun, psychologist from Rice University, USA   found that a gossiper, a listener and a target all are benefitted by the gossip. This research is revealing the complex and diverse roles in shaping perceptions of self and others by looking at factors such as basic information, ego enhancement and social segregation within a group.

The gossiper is the prime mover in this drama. Social scientist has focused to find out the answer on why they do it, what they get out of it and what the attendant dangers are in doing it, if any. In its most benign form gossip creates a sense of connectedness and belonging. On the other hand, if what you’re sharing is injurious to the target, you may feel guilty. You may also feel anxious about repercussions, including retaliation. There’s the further risk that listeners may form unwelcome impressions about you.

The gossip is a double-edged sword for each member of this equilateral triangle. Whether that sword aids or causes harm depends on a slew of factors, including the relationships among gossiper, listener and target, the motives of each person and the trustworthiness of the imparted info.So what is good about gossip? Whenever someone confides something to you about someone you both know—whether the information is positive, negative or neutral—it brings the two of you closer, creating a social bond. According to one study, it even increases your liking for the spreader of the information. It helps you learn who to trust and who to avoid. It enforces group norms. For example, complaints about a co-worker who puts smelly banana peels in the paper trash are likely to get back to them and let them know that placing stinky garbage in the incorrect container is not an office norm.

Gossipers have been maligned from time immemorial as rumormongers or talebearers, yet most of what they impart is actually true. Another scientist found that the gossiper passed on true information when they had no conflict of interest with the target of the gossip. When they had a rivalry or other conflict with the target, however, they were likelier to pass on things that were self-serving or outright false. Like a villain in a melodrama, a gossiper can take down a rival, for instance, by manipulating people’s impressions of them.

Despite complex motivations, humans on average are quite good at sizing up the intentions of others with whom they interact. They usually know the person and their place in the network. One study shows that the determining factor of how people interpret gossip is whether they believe someone is passing on gossip to help out the listener or to benefit themselves. If they perceive it to be the former, they trust the gossiper more.

Gossip can be vital to those who listen to it too. Learning that a colleague could be leaving their job, for example, could motivate a listener to take on challenging, promotion-worthy assignments. For someone new to a group, gossip can be invaluable. In any large organization, there are always smaller cliques, in-groups and out-groups.    

There has been a paucity of research on how gossip affects people in minority groups, but at least one study suggests that it can be helpful in certain cases. Between 2015 and 2020 investigators interviewed and found that much of the local gossip occurred between people of different ethnic groups and promoted strong community relationships.    

There is a common assumption that being the target of gossip is a bad thing, but this is not always the case. Psychologist found that targets of positive gossip experienced positive emotions such as pride, but negative gossip was sometimes beneficial by inspiring efforts to repair problematic behavior. “The good side,”   may become more aware of how to perceive by others and then you may adjust your behavior accordingly.” But, in line with popular perception, if people are bad-mouthing about you, they can harm your reputation, your career prospects, your mental health.”

One of the most beneficial results of gossip is that it helps people better understand the behavior of others. For example, someone might complain about a co-worker who shows up late every day, but if they learn through gossip that the offending colleague is in the middle of a divorce or that this person’s young son has cancer, they are less likely to complain. Perhaps more important, they sympathize with the co-worker who is suffering a crisis and feel motivated to be more helpful to them. Most gossip in real life was neither positive nor negative, just newsy: someone became a grandpa; someone got engaged. Gossip may have a bad name, but science shows it’s often not a bad thing. (The author has his own study and views)