I have some gossip for you.
Raise your hand if you're a gossiper.
(Cheering)
Oh, I see quite a few brave people.
Terrific!
Do you think gossip is mostly nonsense and idle talk?
Do you think gossip is a sin?
Do you think gossip is harmful, hostile?
Do you think gossip is mostly about celebrities?
What's your opinion about Miley Cyrus?
(Laughter)
If you answered "yes,"
I'm going to destroy common myths about gossip.
Yes, I know that all major religions prohibit or discourage gossip.
It's a paradox that almost everyone gossips.
Fortunately, gossip benefits the gossiper,
the listener, the group and our society.
In my career in media and public relations,
I learned the value of gossip.
I've written 23 books,
including Webster's New World Dictionary of Media and Communications.
(Applause)
Thank you.
(Applause)
I also write under the name of Stephen King.
(Laughter)
Most dictionaries define gossip
with such words as "informal conversation,"
"idle talk," "rumor."
"Idle talk" - I don’t like that.
Here's my definition:
Gossip is a written or spoken conversation
about the private lives of other people.
(Laughter)
Usually judgmental,
gossip often provides a moral barometer.
Many dictionaries equate gossip with rumor.
There is a big difference.
Gossip usually has an identifiable source.
Rumors usually do not.
Gossip usually has a basis in truth.
Rumors usually are false.
We now are in a gossip boom,
with more than a billion people gossiping on Facebook and other blogs,
gossiping in person, talking and texting on the phone and other media.
Scientists around the world are studying how and why we gossip.
We've been gossiping long before blogs, TV, newspapers and magazines.
Cavemen needed gossip for their survival.
Cavemen used gossip to find friends,
avoid enemies
and locate the best places for food, hunting and protection.
"And what's with that woman in the next cave?"
(Laughter)
Social networks existed
ever since early villagers found common interests with their neighbors.
Online social networks are the new tribes.
When four psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley
reported recently that gossiping has major benefits,
media around the world pressed the "like" button.
In the experiments,
students were hooked up to heart rate monitors
to measure the effects of gossip.
It was front-page news
because it contradicted the long-held belief that gossip is bad.
Everyone gossips.
It's so natural we're hardly aware of it.
(Laughter)
About half of our conversation time is gossip.
There's no avoiding it.
We gossip mostly about people we know.
Only a small part is about famous people, which is what the media concentrate on.
Much of our gossip is positive or neutral.
Gossip about celebrities is more negative.
Gossip reduces stress,
boosts self-esteem,
(Laughter)
bonds friendship -
(Laughter)
and these are all data from the University of California psychologists
who report in a scientific journal -
fuels the stock market,
influences voting,
and changes the way we see people and how they see us.
Infants as young as six months can judge character
and detect differences between good and bad behavior.
We start gossiping soon after we learn to talk.
Women were once associated with gossip.
Men gossip as much as women,
(Applause)
but in different ways and places.
Men gossip more about people
associated with sports, politics and sex.
Progesterone is a hormone in women
that reduces anxiety and enhances friendship.
While gossiping,
women have a slightly higher level of progesterone than non-gossipers -
again from a scientific journal.
Scientists are studying the increased flow of pleasure hormones
during gossiping
and identifying specific sites in the brain associated with gossip
and specific hormones:
dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin.
Oxytocin boosts contentment, generosity, empathy and trust,
all potential components of gossip.
Active gossipers have bigger brains, no kidding.
(Laughter)
Individuals with big social networks,
gossipers,
have a slightly larger prefrontal cortex area of their brains.
Gossip thrives in small towns and isolated areas.
In totalitarian countries, gossip often is more accurate than government reports.
In our country, gossip is a way of life
in college fraternities and sororities,
military housing,
assisted living facilities and prisons.
It's an easy language to use with people of similar lifestyle and interests,
such as neighbors, athletes, students and workers.
It's a way to convey personal information
accurately, efficiently and enjoyably.
Here's a surprise:
some companies prohibit gossip in their offices.
Most are small companies.
Recent studies indicate the harm created by anti-gossip rules.
About 60 years ago,
America's number one gossiper was Walter Winchell.
His gossip column was in more than a thousand newspapers.
His radio and TV audiences were greater than any program today.
Now, Paris Hilton, Gorka, TMZ
and other digital media convey celebrity gossip
throughout the day and night around the world.
Also important are the gossip magazines
such as People, Star, Us and many, many others
and the supermarket tabloids such as the National Enquirer.
My mission today
has been to convince you that gossip has many benefits.
It's possible that other animals gossip:
chimpanzees and maybe dolphins.
I have three points.
One, gossip is good, so spread the word.
(Laughter)
Two, be comfortable as a gossiper.
(Laughter)
Three, don't criticize other gossipers.
(Laughter)
(Applause)
Thank you and good night.
(Laughter)
Honestly now,
raise your hand if you're a gossiper.
(Laughter)
Seems to me I see more hands up now than before.
(Laughter)
By the way, have you heard that ...
(Applause)