How much time do we spend on gossip, and why is it useful
Have you ever wondered how much time per day you spend on gossip? But don’t worry, this figure will not shock you.
Whatever one may say, but deep down, every person loves to wash the bones of others. The feeling of gloating and excitement associated with the opportunity to discuss someone behind our back is inherent in all of us. What do if people acquire this “joy” in the process of evolution? To deny that it gives us pleasure and that we gossip often is pretty stupid.
But you hardly knew that such a waste of time is much more beneficial for a person than meditation, since this way you can relax quite well. According to statistics, a person spends less than an hour a day on gossip. Why does it happen? Who prevents you from doing this more often or longer? Let’s figure it out together.
How much time do we spend on gossip every day
How long have we been gossiping, and what do we love to talk about?
How long does it take
A research was conducted to find out how much time a person spends on gossip every day. Several hundred volunteers donned portable devices to record all conversations made during the day, and at the end of the study, the findings were analyzed by psychologists.
What did you manage to find out? It turns out that a person spends less than an hour on gossip. On average, this is 52 minutes daily.
But most of this time is spent not even on the criticism itself but on retelling to each other some minor details of what happened, which precede condemnation or approval. Usually, all these details are pretty uninteresting.
What people gossip about most often
Thanks to the research carried out, it was possible to find out that all gossip is neutral. There is no negativity in conversations because people most often exchange information with each other.
When psychologists analyzed all the recorded conversations, it became clear that only one-fifth of all stories sounded with condemnation. So what happens? To relax and experience the joy or satisfaction of the opportunity to wash someone’s bones, it is not at all necessary to criticize the person, let alone
However, it is not necessary to praise someone. It is enough to chat with the interlocutor and share some information about the person under discussion.
Scientists are sure that if a person finds out that he has been criticized, for example, by colleagues at work, he will first be upset. Still, then he will decide to correct either his behavior or other aspects that were unflattering about him. By the way, people who wash bones behind their backs have an excellent chance to become friends because they have a common topic of conversation that inspires them.
What to do if these are the features of teamwork? Surely you know this too. Each of us at least once became either an object of gossip or that same harmful person who speaks something behind the eyes.
What kind of gossip do we love the most?
More precisely, our brain loves them. It turns out that gossip about stars and media personalities is almost the most “tidbit” for our subconscious. The most interesting thing for us will be information that a famous person has committed some offense or has behaved funny, strange or stupidly. Any news that makes a splash on the network becomes discussed, and, of course, we are not at all averse to talking about it with relatives or friends.
The most interesting thing is that our brain tries to hide this pleasure because it is still ugly when a person rejoices in other people’s failures. By the way, the Germans have long given this phenomenon a name. The schadenfreude and pleasure experienced when someone behaves stupidly or fails is called “Schadenfreude.”
While the study was conducted on volunteers, some had brain scans while listening to various gossip. Of the conversations about celebrities, friends, colleagues, and relatives, the most interesting and intriguing for the brain turned out to be conversations about celebrities.
