Gossip and It's Advantages

Everyone enjoys a good gossip and everyone also knows where the Good Book stands in matters of gossiping. Our parents, teachers and religious teachers have all warned us about the evils of gossiping; but gossip also has its benefits as well.

Some form of gossip can help you in the following ways:

1) Proper Behaviour in Social Settings. Gossip can actually teach you how to act when you find yourself in a social gathering. When you participate in gossip, you will learn from other people's mistakes, for example, you are gossiping with people who are connoisseurs in the art of social grace, and one of them says something like this "did you see the way Ms. X was placing her elbows on the dinner table last night? How shocking." If you never knew that it is wrong to place your elbows on a dinner table because you come from a completely different background, you will know (through gossiping) that it is wrong to do that, especially in a social situation.

2) Helps You Relieve Stress: Having a salacious gossip with a friend can actually help you unwind because believe it or not, talking behind other people's backs can be quite enjoyable. Knowing that Miss Goody-Von-Sexier-Than-Thou is not perfect after all, this makes you feel good or better about yourself.

3) Gossiping Promotes Social Bonding: Most of us only gossip with people we can trust, because we are not just sharing stuff about someone else only to have our listeners go running to the person we gossiped about to tattle.

4) Gossiping Helps You Change: If you keep hearing unpalatable stuff about your person (all the time). It helps you to re-examine your attitude because in every gossip, they is an iota of truth. Most people have mended their ways because they were not getting positive feedback from gossiping neighbours, club members, co-workers etc.

However, gossiping is a double-edged sword, because many people have lost loved ones, jobs, opportunities, and et cetera through unfounded and baseless gossip, spread by jealousy and hatred.

A famous Nigerian musician (Dr. Alban), said in one of his songs "enemies carry gossip, ignorant people spread them, fools take it and accept it, fools! fools!!"

When you engage in so called harmless gossip, you are hurting someone's feelings because lets face it, no one wants to be gossiped about. But the sad truth is that, NO ONE IS INNOCENT OF GOSSIPING!

Everyone goes on and on about how much they dislike or even detest gossips. No one and I mean no one (who has the gift of speech) can actually claim innocence when accused of gossiping. Maybe you don't do it anymore but the fact is that you have done it at one time.

We encourage gossip when we listen (maybe you don't contribute to the discussion) to gossip and buy gossip magazines that have ruined the love lives, marriages, friendships, and et cetera of well known people and have plunged them into a life of misery.

Before you engage in another round of gossip, think carefully, because what goes around will definitely come around.