Is gossiping good for us?

We all love to have a good chat, but sometimes it strays into a conversation about another person, and as hard as it is to admit, sometimes we do like it! While gossiping is never perceived as a good thing, some new research has come out in favour of the gossip session.

The research, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, found that gossiping might actually be good for our self esteem because it is human nature to compare ourselves to others. And it doesn’t always have to be nasty or judgemental words about someone else, even good gossip can boost our how we feel about ourselves.

If you hear negative gossip, particularly if you’re a woman, you could see a higher self-awareness…you don’t want to be like the person being bitched about! Essentially, bad gossip makes you take notice of yourself and compare yourself to that person. While most of us steer clear from talking about other people unfavourably, we can finally admit that little bit of cheeky chatter does make us feel good.