The sting of betrayal you feel when you find out someone has been talking about you behind your back is something no one should ever feel. Or you are venting to a friend, only to realize your words made their way back to the person you least wanted to hear them. Maybe all you wanted was someone to have your back and listen, not turn around and stab you in the back.
This happens more often than you think and it is sometimes done by the people you least expect. This issue occurs more in school environments, but carries throughout life. It seems that drama is always in the air.
There are tons of moments where people have an issue with someone and instead of talking it out with them they instead go and talk about this person without their knowledge. Doing this is not going to fix anything and it can result in fights, fall outs, and unnecessary drama.
According to Social Psychological and Personality Science, “approximately 13% of daily conversations involve gossip.” Although it might not seem like much, gossip is always circulating and often becomes a topic of conversation more frequently than you would expect.
Gossip being so normalized and easily brought up, will lead to countless victims experiencing this form of bullying.
Lucille Cruz, a sophomore at Innovation High School, has had her share of personal situations due to gossip.
“There have been times when I’ve found out my own friends were talking about me and I had no idea,” said Cruz. “I had no idea that they had any issue with me since they never said anything to me but I wish they had.”
Cruz is one of many victims of gossip. Usually, people are not aware they are the subject of gossip until someone informs them about it.
Oftentimes people will say that it is better to address the matter directly, but what about the person that is spreading the information? Where is their sense of loyalty? Yes, you would rather hear it from the person with the issue than a third party, but at times the information is silly, inaccurate and it is not something that should lead to drama.
Find the right people to confide in. Not every thought should be shared and if the problem is that serious, just say it to their face.
