Gossiping and Idle Chatter are important flavors of our use of language, that give us a sense of shared identity and bonding, making us grow more aware of our environment.

Idle Chatter

Gossip is malicious only 3 to 4 percent of times and seems to bring people together, as when two people talk about a third one, having a common 'adversary' creates a bond between them.

Facts About Gossip

Gossip can make us better people, according to some researchers.<ul><li>Positive gossip inspires people while negative gossip makes people proud of themselves.</li><li>People learn about themselves through the grapevine.</li><li>Many people decide to reform themselves because of the gossip they have heard.</li></ul>

The Good Side of Gossiping

Generally, gossiping has a bad reputation. It is called the faceless demon that breaks hearts and ruins careers. It is also termed as the three-pronged tongue that kills the teller, listener, and the person being gossiped about, all at once.

The Bad Reputation

Despite gossip's dodgy reputation, a surprisingly small share of it-as little as 3 to 4 percent-is actually malicious. [4] And even that portion can bring people together. Researchers at the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma found that if two people share negative feelings about a third person, they are likely to feel closer to each other than they would if they both felt positively about him or her.

Facts About Gossip

Idle Chatter

The Good Side of Gossiping

The Bad Reputation

Gossiping Is Good

Other curated ideas on this topic:

Sleep deprivation facts

Notes On Small Talk

The concept of “work/life integration”