For the sociologists and anthropologists again:
We all know that gossip can be very destructive to relationships at home and at work, yet it persists and even flourishes.
Accusations without evidence are thrown around with abandon, in the shadows, destroying people's credibility and lives. The victim is usually denied a right of reply. The principle used is: 'if enough people whisper it, then it must be true'
But is there any positive social value to gossip? eg: early alert of bad people in one's environment?
Is gossip a stealth weapon in our social environment?
Should we have a social sanction for people who spread gossip and what should the punishment be?
There is a built-in cleansing mechanism built into gossip, in that the negative energy returns to the gossiper. Remember that phrase, "It's in your mouth!" So we are all "free" to gossip, but eventually it will be discovered, certainly our own consciousness is aware.
I suggest you read Niko Besnier's 2009 monograph:
Gossip and the Everyday Production of Politics. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
Gossip is both a positive and a negative. We actually account for it as communication through the informal network. Two things it does is it provides relief and a means of expression which may not have been possible. Also, information and communication that may not easily move on the formal channel would go on the informal channel; and possibly provide novel information. @Michael Goldsmith, thank you for the reference, I shall look it up.
Thanks you for the comments so far. Here is a taste of the quoted Besnier.
Article Gossip and the Everyday Production of Politics. Niko Besnier...
None:
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2013/american-art-n09048/lot.16.html
ciao
r
Gossip is an informal method of social control, particularly in small-scale societies. Gossip may be seen as a negative or positive form of social control. After the fact, gossip sanctions wrongdoers. Fear of gossip may result in deterring bad behavior - however that is defined by a particular society. In societies where most individuals know everyone else, gossip can be quite effective in maintaining social order. And, in smaller societies, malicious gossip can be identified or contradicted by persons who can vouch for the target of gossip, as well as identify an unreliable initiator of gossip. Also, there are means to test whether a person is lying, by subjecting him/her to a trial: reaction to hot metal, poison, etc. In large-scale societies it is certainly more possible for gossip to be started with malicious intent since small networks of people may know each other intimately and be able to point out suspicious gossip, but large-scale societies in which large numbers of people do not know each other, do not have the same sort of checks and balances. Still, gossip, verified or not, can be a powerful means of political or social control or manipulation in large-scale societies.
it is useless and time consuming. I dont know why people waste their time in such "a trivial matte"
Gossip is outcome of free society to spend their leisure.if we can add component of ethics it is important to connect all society
The social value of gossiping is extremely high in many cultures! Gossiping may involve a range of issues, including power relations, challenging patriarchal authority, developing a base of counter-hegemony! See an example of how gossiping, poetry or other types of everyday behaviours of Bedouin women can develop a form of resistance.
https://is.muni.cz/el/1423/podzim2012/SAN230/um/Abu-Lughod_The_Romance_of_Resistance.pdf
There is a built-in cleansing mechanism built into gossip, in that the negative energy returns to the gossiper. Remember that phrase, "It's in your mouth!" So we are all "free" to gossip, but eventually it will be discovered, certainly our own consciousness is aware.
Gossip is both positive and negative. It sometimes provides timely information and it is definitely a means of intimate socialising. However, it could be destructive because it could be an uncensored means of sharing false and or damaging information. It also has a negative social tag; I certainly dont want to be caught gossiping. And not everything said about someone in gossip should be heard by the person. Should there be social sanctions? We cannot legislate that and it has not come to that but a gossip when caught goes through a rough patch because the person-object of the gossip would certainly apply sanctions, sibtle or overt. I think that is how the situation would continue for some time to come.
This piece is about gossip - and has many reference sin teh bibliography that might be helpful to you: https://www.academia.edu/8725175/Peluso_D._M._2008._Vengeance_and_writing_history_the_name_as_the_last_word._Revenge_in_Lowland_South_America_edited_by_Paul_Valentine_and_Steven_Beckerman._University_Press_of_Florida
Hi Fazieh,
You have pose a very important question, But can you help define what your gossip implies here, False information about some one or partial truth about some one. Notable axample from my small village in Ghana is the issue of Old Woman who are normally at home and see what ever that happens so will reveal such hidden deeds when they meet the peers or at the village square. This may carry partial truth and partial exaggeration. so the case as to what is gossip may be wider than the ocean.
Thanks for all the replies.
The definition of gossip is as wide as possible- good and bad elements.
I would say that on a symbolic interaction level, gossip circles could be called a root of several larger communication systems. We might think of them as "grass roots" interpersonal exchange. The truth values of those exchanges probably vary wildly, but they may also be a necessary part of how information spreads to the vast majority of people. This probably couldn't be dealt with in terms of normative policing anymore than it already is. It's a part of the same systems used to make small talk about shared beliefs and customs; it also has a lot to do with how they are imposed upon members of groups. It already has social policing involved.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, gossip is talk about people's private lives. Gossip may or may not be true, and may or may not be negative. The first time three humans were together, one walked away and the other two talked about him/her, was no doubt one of the first instances of abstract thought. Gossip can be positive in building trust and creating social bonds, and it's importance to social groups is highly overlooked.
Gossip in the narrower sense is a type of communication that relieves communication itself. And thus also us who take part in communication. Through gossip we can make circumstances that we find difficult to cope with more bearable. A superior becomes more human through gossip, the social distance between him and the gossipers is reduced for the duration of the exchange. Gossip thus has the social function of levelling social inequalities. Even if a specific form of inequality may only be felt subjectively. Mobbing, in my opinion, must be distinguished from gossip. Because this is a type of communication that has a clear purpose. To shake the integrity of an individual in his social environment. Empirically, however, there will be grey areas between gossip and bullying that are difficult to differentiate.
Fazleh Mahomed and all: Reading the answers above, one needs to realize that (any option one takes), the end result is that there is no punitive department in the universe. Therefore gossip has to be positive, because it exists in nature. Gossip is just an error in communication, the intent, just the same. The one who gossips wants to communicate, and presents errors.
Evidence of that, is that like communication, gossip can be corrected with the same tools, variance and redundancy. The errors can be reduced (surprisingly) to a value as close to zero as desired (Claude Shannon, Information Theory.) Gossip is just information. It is unexpected, and there lies its value, according to Shannon. No information is no news. So, invent it!
Gossiping should be also considered as a kind of mediated communication which maintain social (community's to be more precise) order.
Sometimes it is used to transfer messages from one to another person, which contain negative opinions and attitudes of the sender towards the receiver, via third person or persons. The sender “confesses” to a person(s) for which he or she consciously or unconsciously knows (believes) that will forward to the receiver. In this way, due to lack of direct antagonistic communication, a potential conflict in the community might be avoided and social order preserved. At the same time, both sender and receiver released (portion of their) tensions expressing them semi-publicly through this communication hub articulated in the mediating person(s).
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, where I came from, this is (was mainly) quite codified way of communication in rural areas and in city’s quarters (mahala), with a woman, mahaluša (or rarely a man - mahalaš) in center to whom everyone confesses and from who they receive important information about community and themselves. Although she (he) is not particularly liked among neighbors, she (he) is definitively the most popular persons for her (his) integrating!? role.
Good example @ Michael Uebel!
Yes, I agree with you! I have also seen similar the effects of negative gossiping in Bangladesh. It can have serious consequences on both parties because it can divide people into two visible groups and they may involve in direct conflict or confrontation. This is especially true where kinship or lineage identity is still a dominant issue. negative gossiping can propagate people from each competition lineage to revenge against each other group. More interestingly, it can further go beyond from kinship group to political alliance!
Sxt Oh
I think we all face this issue. It is good to air the discussion to bring us all better clarity.
I appreciate the insight
Regards
Gossip represent a form of social control, a repression of the behaviour that reduces those aspects of human actions related with the moral conduct, therefore it belongs also to the historical path of humanity. If we want to know about the moral conduct of a society, we shall identify that the fear of gossip could be higher in that particular group than in others.
Sharing secrets is one way people bond, and sharing gossip with another person is a sign of deep trust: you’re signaling that you believe that the person will not use this sensitive information against you.
Therefore, someone skillful at gossip will have a good rapport with a large network of people. At the same time, they’ll be discreetly knowledgeable about what’s going on throughout the group.
Gossip also helps to socialize newcomers into groups by resolving ambiguity about group norms and values. In other words, listening to the judgments that people make about the behavior of others helps the newbie figure out what’s acceptable and what isn’t.
Please also have a look at this useful RG link.
Article Why People Gossip: An Empirical Analysis of Social Motives, ...
gossip / rumor as being essentially unverified private information from unverified resources, and passed form person to person is a wide spread social disease that poisons the existence of millions of people.
There are innocuous gossips/rumors that are unrelated to any particular person - sort of unverified information exchange. It is rather close to casual chats, conversations. Even that should be taken with care and prudence.
However, making people a subject of gossips/rumors is a sign of a bad habit, low culture, intelligence, and honor. It's a sin, and this habit should be routed out from people while being kids by Moms and Dads.
It appears that gossip is one of the micro themes that most interactants tend to use in personal conversations with those with whom they have an intimate relationship. Although gossip is considered unethical, for some unknown reason, it creates a secretive venue which the parties involved in the conversation seem to enjoy. Consequently, the social value of gossip lies in the fact that it tends to enhance the degree of intimacy among friends.
The value add of gossip is zero and sometimes even negative. Spreading unconfirmed reports about someone or something can only lead to harm. People do this around the water fountain or in the break room at work and often enjoy it. As it has been said, if you have a problem with someone talk to that person directly not behind their back.
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