Do We Really Need Gossip

I really dislike gossip. There. I said it.

I have these old friends who come into town every once in awhile to stay at another friends house and we all get together for the weekend. Since we live in town, we visit while they are they are there and then go home to sleep. I like this set-up because we can leave whenever we want to.

Some of those friends knew each other before others of us came into the picture and they gossip about people they know. It makes me very uncomfortable for many reasons. One is that the targets of the gossip are not there to defend themselves and so we are getting one side of the story.

Second, it feels as though the gossiping is done to intentionally leave the rest of us who don't know who they are talking about out of the loop. And third, I feel as though if these people do not have anything better to do than to talk about other people behind their backs, then maybe they are not as high quality of a friend as I thought they were. If they are talking like that about other people, then I know that they are talking about me as well.So, here are my questions: Why does anyone feel the need to gossip? Does it make her feel superior to others because she has this information before anyone else? Or does she really not have anything better to do? Only the "gossiper" can answer these questions.Copyright 2006 Wendi Moore-Buysse.

By: Wendi Moore-Buysse