We listened to all the gossip and also spread it, at a more conservative time they shook whole families, while today they are moving differently because the way we have to share information has also changed a lot.
The gossip stands out for its enormous potential to generate imbalances, whether social or personal, we generally do not like it when we are part of it, because they are not usually loaded with good intentions: that is why they are, on a road, veiled messages.
- These are usually messages that follow the tradition of the game and are transmitted from word of mouth.
- The paradox of gossip is that they can’t stand the evidence.
- But they’re gaining speed as more and more people share it.
- This kind of message perfectly follows the law that “a lie repeatedly a thousand times becomes true.
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The initial source or focus of the gossip is usually not easy to identify, especially since the message is transformed with repetition, so the comment that reaches the person has little resemblance to the original story. the beginning of a brief message in which there is some glimpse of uncertainty: “I heard that there will be layoffs,” “Ana is on leave and last week she was very sad, perhaps depressed. “
However, our brain prefers certainties to hypotheses, so what began as a hypothesis almost ends up becoming a dogma, to complete the definition of gossip could be said to obey very clear laws:
Another property of rumors is that its way of spreading is usually viral, that is, each receiver is both a potential transmitter of information, the person will, on several occasions, sum up his opinion about what he has heard, and it is not strange that the way and tone with which he shares the gossip is public.
The answer is as simple as it is impossible: to prevent people from communicating, a more realistic response is just as difficult, although a little less, it’s about making a critical analysis of the information we receive. We ourselves, if the source is reliable, we have to ask (if possible) the source itself to what extent it relies on the information it has provided to us. It would also be good to know if the circulation of this information benefits someone and to what extent they are involved in the dissemination of gossip.
On the other hand, if there are gossips that need to be mistrustful, they are those who allude to minorities or groups that are unable to defend themselves. There is a phrase that says: “The story is always told by the winners and the first payment of defeat, by the losers, is precisely to accept the story. “An example of this can be found in one of the dictatorships that plagued Europe in the first half of the 20th century.
Without having to make such a journey back in time, and staying today to observe the minorities around us, we will realize that many of the stereotypes that prevail in the collective imagination are systematically fueled by rumors, which in turn also fuel losses and ultimately cause discrimination.