0:00:07.414,0:00:09.565
I have some gossip for you.

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Raise your hand if you're a gossiper.

0:00:14.826,0:00:16.246
(Cheering)

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Oh, I see quite a few brave people.

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Terrific!

0:00:23.919,0:00:28.048
Do you think gossip is mostly[br]nonsense and idle talk?

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Do you think gossip is a sin?

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Do you think gossip is harmful, hostile?

0:00:35.921,0:00:38.818
Do you think gossip is mostly[br]about celebrities?

0:00:40.498,0:00:43.085
What's your opinion about Miley Cyrus?

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(Laughter)

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If you answered "yes,"

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I'm going to destroy[br]common myths about gossip.

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Yes, I know that all major religions[br]prohibit or discourage gossip.

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It's a paradox that[br]almost everyone gossips.

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Fortunately, gossip benefits the gossiper,

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the listener, the group and our society.

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In my career in media[br]and public relations,

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I learned the value of gossip.

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I've written 23 books,

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including Webster's New World Dictionary[br]of Media and Communications.

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(Applause)

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Thank you.

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(Applause)

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I also write under the name[br]of Stephen King.

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(Laughter)

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Most dictionaries define gossip

0:01:47.540,0:01:51.838
with such words as[br]"informal conversation,"

0:01:51.838,0:01:54.173
"idle talk," "rumor."

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"Idle talk" - I don’t like that.

0:01:57.861,0:01:59.655
Here's my definition:

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Gossip is a written or spoken conversation

0:02:05.308,0:02:08.495
about the private lives of other people.

0:02:08.495,0:02:11.095
(Laughter)

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Usually judgmental,

0:02:15.805,0:02:19.729
gossip often provides a moral barometer.

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Many dictionaries[br]equate gossip with rumor.

0:02:24.133,0:02:26.516
There is a big difference.

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Gossip usually has an identifiable source.

0:02:33.157,0:02:34.961
Rumors usually do not.

0:02:35.638,0:02:38.950
Gossip usually has a basis in truth.

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Rumors usually are false.

0:02:43.256,0:02:45.712
We now are in a gossip boom,

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with more than a billion people gossiping[br]on Facebook and other blogs,

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gossiping in person, talking and texting[br]on the phone and other media.

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Scientists around the world[br]are studying how and why we gossip.

0:03:06.422,0:03:10.980
We've been gossiping long before blogs,[br]TV, newspapers and magazines.

0:03:11.747,0:03:16.689
Cavemen needed gossip for their survival.

0:03:18.077,0:03:21.549
Cavemen used gossip to find friends,

0:03:22.099,0:03:23.790
avoid enemies

0:03:24.091,0:03:29.221
and locate the best places for food,[br]hunting and protection.

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"And what's with that woman[br]in the next cave?"

0:03:34.911,0:03:37.139
(Laughter)

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Social networks existed

0:03:43.037,0:03:49.508
ever since early villagers found[br]common interests with their neighbors.

0:03:50.129,0:03:53.313
Online social networks are the new tribes.

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When four psychologists[br]at the University of California, Berkeley

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reported recently[br]that gossiping has major benefits,

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media around the world[br]pressed the "like" button.

0:04:07.477,0:04:09.428
In the experiments,

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students were hooked up[br]to heart rate monitors

0:04:12.698,0:04:15.068
to measure the effects of gossip.

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It was front-page news

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because it contradicted[br]the long-held belief that gossip is bad.

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Everyone gossips.

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It's so natural we're hardly aware of it.

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(Laughter)

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About half of our[br]conversation time is gossip.

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There's no avoiding it.

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We gossip mostly about people we know.

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Only a small part is about famous people,[br]which is what the media concentrate on.

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Much of our gossip is positive or neutral.

0:04:57.820,0:05:00.602
Gossip about celebrities is more negative.

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Gossip reduces stress,

0:05:06.219,0:05:08.228
boosts self-esteem,

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(Laughter)

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bonds friendship -

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(Laughter)

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and these are all data from[br]the University of California psychologists

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who report in a scientific journal -

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fuels the stock market,

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influences voting,

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and changes the way we see people[br]and how they see us.

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Infants as young as six months[br]can judge character

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and detect differences[br]between good and bad behavior.

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We start gossiping[br]soon after we learn to talk.

0:05:51.059,0:05:54.376
Women were once associated with gossip.

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Men gossip as much as women,

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(Applause)

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but in different ways and places.

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Men gossip more about people

0:06:10.740,0:06:17.055
associated with sports, politics and sex.

0:06:19.647,0:06:23.083
Progesterone is a hormone in women

0:06:23.623,0:06:29.202
that reduces anxiety[br]and enhances friendship.

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While gossiping,

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women have a slightly higher level[br]of progesterone than non-gossipers -

0:06:40.953,0:06:43.126
again from a scientific journal.

0:06:45.493,0:06:51.843
Scientists are studying[br]the increased flow of pleasure hormones

0:06:51.843,0:06:53.438
during gossiping

0:06:53.939,0:07:00.083
and identifying specific sites[br]in the brain associated with gossip

0:07:01.477,0:07:03.764
and specific hormones:

0:07:04.299,0:07:08.470
dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin.

0:07:09.339,0:07:16.051
Oxytocin boosts contentment,[br]generosity, empathy and trust,

0:07:16.564,0:07:19.389
all potential components of gossip.

0:07:21.008,0:07:26.717
Active gossipers[br]have bigger brains, no kidding.

0:07:26.717,0:07:27.887
(Laughter)

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Individuals with big social networks,

0:07:33.581,0:07:34.771
gossipers,

0:07:35.651,0:07:41.144
have a slightly larger[br]prefrontal cortex area of their brains.

0:07:44.625,0:07:49.346
Gossip thrives in small towns[br]and isolated areas.

0:07:50.253,0:07:56.356
In totalitarian countries, gossip often[br]is more accurate than government reports.

0:07:57.722,0:08:01.001
In our country, gossip is a way of life

0:08:01.651,0:08:04.251
in college fraternities and sororities,

0:08:04.251,0:08:05.711
military housing,

0:08:05.711,0:08:08.821
assisted living facilities and prisons.

0:08:10.911,0:08:17.091
It's an easy language to use with people[br]of similar lifestyle and interests,

0:08:17.481,0:08:21.489
such as neighbors, athletes,[br]students and workers.

0:08:22.544,0:08:26.105
It's a way to convey personal information

0:08:26.359,0:08:29.604
accurately, efficiently and enjoyably.

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Here's a surprise:

0:08:33.909,0:08:38.258
some companies prohibit gossip[br]in their offices.

0:08:38.837,0:08:40.665
Most are small companies.

0:08:41.224,0:08:47.380
Recent studies indicate[br]the harm created by anti-gossip rules.

0:08:49.204,0:08:50.797
About 60 years ago,

0:08:50.797,0:08:54.307
America's number one gossiper[br]was Walter Winchell.

0:08:54.957,0:08:58.409
His gossip column was[br]in more than a thousand newspapers.

0:08:59.217,0:09:04.704
His radio and TV audiences[br]were greater than any program today.

0:09:05.133,0:09:10.407
Now, Paris Hilton, Gorka, TMZ

0:09:11.823,0:09:16.223
and other digital media[br]convey celebrity gossip

0:09:16.223,0:09:19.098
throughout the day and night[br]around the world.

0:09:19.661,0:09:22.785
Also important are the gossip magazines

0:09:22.785,0:09:26.466
such as People, Star, Us[br]and many, many others

0:09:27.245,0:09:31.394
and the supermarket tabloids[br]such as the National Enquirer.

0:09:33.401,0:09:35.440
My mission today

0:09:35.440,0:09:40.117
has been to convince you[br]that gossip has many benefits.

0:09:40.908,0:09:44.929
It's possible that other animals gossip:

0:09:45.483,0:09:49.161
chimpanzees and maybe dolphins.

0:09:49.578,0:09:51.253
I have three points.

0:09:51.813,0:09:56.398
One, gossip is good, so spread the word.

0:09:56.643,0:09:57.795
(Laughter)

0:09:57.938,0:10:01.121
Two, be comfortable as a gossiper.

0:10:01.126,0:10:02.332
(Laughter)

0:10:02.839,0:10:05.698
Three, don't criticize other gossipers.

0:10:05.698,0:10:07.472
(Laughter)

0:10:08.107,0:10:10.860
(Applause)

0:10:14.792,0:10:16.377
Thank you and good night.

0:10:16.388,0:10:17.722
(Laughter)

0:10:22.594,0:10:23.989
Honestly now,

0:10:24.911,0:10:27.219
raise your hand if you're a gossiper.

0:10:27.836,0:10:30.296
(Laughter)

0:10:31.078,0:10:34.349
Seems to me I see more hands[br]up now than before.

0:10:34.349,0:10:35.841
(Laughter)

0:10:36.897,0:10:40.389
By the way, have you heard that ...

0:10:41.779,0:10:44.603
(Applause)