I recently read an article by Ann Quindlen called "Gossip Minus Guilt". It was extremely interesting and brought up a point of view I had never thought of on the topic of gossip. Below is a summary and response to the article.
Ann Quindlen states in the article that instant news and media outlets have fueled the transition of gossip from out backyards to mainstream America, shifting the blame from our conscience to the tabloids. Ms. Quindlen believes that in the past 100 years, the scope and responsibility of gossip has changed dramatically. The scope of gossiping has gone from small town to the vast outreaches of Hollywood while the responsibility for our words has become almost nonexistent.
I agree with Ms. Quindlen. The elimination of face-to-face contact with those we gossip about removes feelings of guilt because we can’t see the effect. Celebrity gossip is enticing because we will never meet them and they most likely never hear what we say. As Ms. Quindlen reiterates, “Distance insulates us.”
Back in the good ole days, you knew your neighbors and gossip was exchanged over coffee or at the hair salon. You also knew the person you were talking about. Ms. Quindlen says it perfectly in her article, “most of the people doing the talking would have had actual knowledge of the women involved, and from time to time they would actually had to see them…eye contact always had a dampening effect on trash talk.”
Where does this guilt free gossip come from? The Internet, cell phones, and TVs contribute to the ability to become immediately informed on the latest antics of celebrities. “The peeping Tom trade has been outsourced to the paparazzi” as the article, states. No longer does one have to look through a neighbor’s window, sneaking around and hoping to catch wind of something controversial or some small tidbit of gossip. All it takes is a short walk to the nearest corner store and a couple dollars to buy the latest edition of the US Today or The Enquirer. Even faster, one could log onto one of the numerous celebrity websites.
The ability to learn about people we will never meet is a new phenomenon but it is being abused as a channel for gossip. By never meeting those we talk about, we are so distanced from them that, according to Ms. Quindlen, “…it’s almost as if they’re not people at all.”
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Gossip is not good no matter on what level eveyone knows this but most of us still engage in it anyways....
Of course gossip is wrong...that was implied in the article. The focus was more so on the fact that blogs and the Internet have turned the focus onto national icons, who are easier to make fun of because we will never have to face up to them for what we are saying. It has gone from yakking at the beauty salon to sitting on the computer talking with faceless strangers.
http://www.progressiveu.org/user/bamers