While gossiping is the sort of behaviour that is often frowned upon, academics say it is what makes us human and could even add years to our lives.
Oxford University evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar says gossip is what sets us apart from other animals, allowing us to pass on important information to friends and family, while helping us bond with those close to us.
Rather than feeling guilty about the habit, we should accept it as a vital part of life, which even has the potential to help us live longer.
“The most important thing that will prevent you dying is the size of the social network,” Prof Dunbar told the Cheltenham Science Festival over the weekend.
“That has a bigger effect size than anything, except giving up cigarettes. Your social network had a huge effect on happiness and wellbeing.
“The problem we have is how to maintain our social networks. Language evolved to allow us to keep the oil of the social network flowing, keep us up-to-date, and tell stories, which is really important for community cohesion.
What do people gossip about?
Social topics—personal relationships, likes and dislikes, anecdotes about social activities—made up about two-thirds of all conversations in analyses carried out by Prof Dunbar.
The remaining one-third of their time not spent talking about other people was devoted to discussing everything else: sports, music, politics, etc.
“Gossiping is just chatting with people and keeping up to date with the social world in which you live. So gossip is what makes us human. The use of gossip in a negative sense is not seen until the 18th century. It used to be what you did with your friends.”
Fun Fact: In 16th and 17thcentury Britain, gossiping was so frowned upon that offenders or “scolds” were sometimes forced to wear a menacing iron cage on their heads, called “branks” or “scold bridles.” These masks purportedly had iron spikes or bits that went in the mouth and prevented the wearer (more often women!) from speaking.
