What Is Gossip?

For me, Gossip is best defined as communication meant primarily to hurt others unfairly. Basically, it is long-distance bullying. Describing events for the sake of news or reporting problems isn't always the same thing as Gossip, but sharing 'the dirt' or secrets and faults about someone almost always is.

Office Drama
People talk on the job. Talking about other people and trading secrets helps people to feel better about themselves, because in the workplace most people feel inefficient or they're scared of not living up to expectations. There's an old saying, if its everyone's fault, then its no one's fault.

The problem with office drama is how quickly and easily it divides a work place into camps of passively aggressive enemies. It's hard to work when you have to watch how you behave and who you talk too. And of course there are power groups, the social 'elites' who band together to talk dirt on others. They form a clique of VIP's and work to grant each other special favors. Most people don't want to get under their cross hairs because they tend to be the ones in charge.

Town Grapevine
Same thing as Office Drama, except in town. People like to talk dirt on others, and town social mongers get a rush from being connected. Makes them feel important somehow. People love to feel better by putting others down. It doesn't even have to be demonstrated here on the Wiki, it's just so obvious.

A surprisingly good source of Grapevine gossip is celebrity magazines. All sorts of celebrities can lambasted in the media all the time for perfectly fine (albeit eccentric) behavior. People like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and a host of others. Do you truly think they deserve all the "attention" they get from so-called comedians and meme sites? Do you think they as human beings should enjoy some of the headlines you probably read while standing in line at the local grocery market.

Online Bullying
A rising problem, there are instances of people killing themselves because everyone they knew was inner-connected and people were trading gossip. Even family members were giving away personal details not meant for the general public.

Online Bullying is easy to do for the average bully because it can be done from the privacy of their homes and it gives them a wider audience. Also, things said on the internet, with exceptions like chat rooms, tends to stay online so people viewing the material later can read it for themselves.

Family Feuding
It's been said that you're worst enemy will always be one of your own. That holds true for your relatives. They know you best, and family feuds can be both tough and highly personal.

It's true what they say, you can pick your friends but not your family. Just because you grew up together doesn't mean your family don't hold grudges against you, and sometimes people will talk trash about relatives and not think twice about it. They may even be surprised when confronted about it.

That's because people view family members as non-persons. Ever since we were children we made expectations upon our family and with little thought to what we owed them back. With time and repetition comes an altogether de-humanizing of the other members of our family.

Career Problems
Business leaders are always part of the community, and being a figure in the community entails a public image. Bosses worry about their public image, and so they engage the community, often through gossip and the grapevine. Bosses you anger or bosses who feel so inclined may get back at you by waiting for your future potential-employers to call for a reference. Or they may pass word on among their fellows in the same business.

People think that employers have to speak only truthfully when someone calls for a reference, but there's no state laws against them giving their opinions. Anyone, even an employer, is perfectly free to say what they want about you if someone calls for a reference. Companies may say they have a 'policy' against it, but that's not a government recognized law, it's really just the company giving their word, for whatever that's worth.

Links To What Is Gossip?
Wikipedia Answer

http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/gossip-bible-verses-15-helpful-quotes/

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=598295

http://www.preaching.com/sermons/11565825/