Everyone can relate to this at one point in their life.
Gossiping is an action that usually occurs on a daily basis at the high school. Gossip is spread verbally and through social media. Someone could easily eavesdrop and hear part of a conversation, and tell other people what they heard. In most cases it is not the exact same story as what originally happened. In that case, rumors can be created easily made up as well.
Gossip can be both good and bad. Some people brag about their accomplishments with their friends so that they tell other people about it. For example, making a certain sports team or getting honor roll. In other cases people would rather talk about the bad ones.
When someone hears a rumor about someone their first instinct is to get online or text your friends about it. But why? Why do we worry about what others are doing with their lives? Some high schoolers say it is to feel more superior, to gain attention, or a need of revenge.
Studies have shown that the number one reason why people say they spread rumors is because they are bored with the dull life that they live in. They make up stories to liven things up and get people involved. “People spread rumors to seek attention, and they even twist the story to make them look good & the others worse” stated junior Vanessa Jones.
I believe this to be completely true. We live in a world where we want to see others fall as much as we want to see ourselves succeed. By putting someone down or telling others their personal business it makes them feel like they are at the bottom of the food chain. Certain people always want to be in control of others. Some students at York Suburban High School are affected by it everyday. Sometimes the way for a teenager to climb up the popularity scale is to lower the “status” of another person in their group “Gossiping leads to bullying. Bullying leads to suicide and it is a never ending cycle” junior Bree McCoy explained. People do not think before they say certain things and they do not think about the other person’s feelings.
Telling a rumor can be compared to like money. When you start gossiping with your friends it is like buying their attention. You can be the center of attention for a few minutes while they ask you question about the story. If someone does not know the answer then the people will become less interested in it. Therefore, most of the time people just think of a quick lie to tell to fill in the empty areas.
If someone sees a picture or a status on social media they can screenshot it and send it out to whoever they want. They can be behind a computer or phone screen talking badly about a person. Facebook and Twitter fights are very common and the comments often times hurt someone’s feelings. Pictures can be sent out as well and they can spread like wild fire.
Gossiping can be exciting because it keeps people awake and it can talk about it for hours. It puts smiles and laughs on each others faces, but when it leads to rumors and lies then that is when it is not okay. Nobody should just make something up about a person for no reason. I think that it is disrespectful and cruel and they are obviously just jealous about that particular individual.
Gossip can be spread so even quicker now that we have social media. High school is the main place where it is being spread and if people would mind their own business and worry about more important aspects like their education instead of drama we would not have these issues.