6 Hidden Benefits of Gossip
Gossip is considered as a negative and unethical phenomenon, though it has positive sides as well. In our century gossip is described as a prosocial behavior as it can boost our self-esteem and give emotional support. It also enables us to elicit a few feel-good hormones and feel better about ourselves. Gossip offers surprising benefits for our great harmony.
This article is not advocating gossip, but there is nothing wrong with emphasizing a few positive features of it.
1. It builds social bonds
Gossiping affects the hormone levels responsible for feelings of euphoria, love, and trust. While gossiping, the body releases a large amount of hormone oxytocin. This hormone is responsible for harmonious social behavior, as it promotes relationship bonding, feelings of trust, and generosity. People gossip to share their worries, to seek reassurance and support. Gossiping can aid our mental health by binding us together in social networks.
2. It relieves stress
Another benefit of gossip is that it relieves anxiety. In an experiment, regarding the power of gossip, participants shared the news about someone’s bad behavior with their peers. As a result, they felt positive. Surprisingly, sharing the information helped them relieve stress.
3. It builds trust
Gossip builds trust. Friendly gossiping makes us indulge a bit and lets our “true self” emerge. For example, while talking about someone’s matter behind her back, we want to keep this story as a secret with other participants of the conversation, which means somehow we rely on them. It also makes us feel more inclined to share our secrets as well.
4. It supports self-evaluation
We have an innate desire to know more about other people’s lives. It serves the purpose of comparing ourselves to others and makes us feel more superior and even rejoice over someone else’s misfortunes to compensate for our hidden sense of inferiority. Moreover, partaking in positive gossip can temporarily boost our self-esteem and may help us feel emotionally supported.
5. It’s a tool for Self-improvement
We all know that people gossip about us in our absence. Sooner or later, we realize what others say behind our backs. But, even the negative gossip aids us in terms of self-improvement, as we try to reform our behavior, correct the mistakes which are the subject of gossip, and become the better us as a result.
6. It boosts self-confidence
Gossip provides us with confidence in certain cases. While experiencing a hard time, you start inquiring whether your friends experienced the same thing and how they fixed that difficulty. Once assuring, that you are not the only person with this experience and there is nothing weird in your problem, you feel relieved and more confident, which helps you do your job calmly and comfortably.
Do you agree with the above-mentioned statements? Share your opinions in comments.
