No matter how our ancestors began to gossip, at least we know that gossip has continued to this day. So what's the use of gossiping around people? Some people think that gossip can help us distinguish between enemies and friends. When we gossip, we will constantly exchange comments on the gossiped object, which helps us to judge whether a person is worth interacting with. In addition, the study found that people are more willing to spread negative comments about a person.

Secondly, gossip is good for health, at least in the workplace. Professor Jack Levine of Northeastern University in the United States said that gossip is good for emotional health (but it does not include rumors that damage reputation). He believes that small talk helps people build social and business networks. A study in university of groningen, the Netherlands, 20 14 found that gossip about other people's abilities is helpful to people's self-evaluation and self-improvement. In addition, small talk can help individuals understand their reputation in the team and promote cooperation.

Psychologist Matthew Finberg once put forward the concept of "pro-social gossip": it can help people who listen to gossip find people who are really willing to cooperate and eliminate those who don't. This kind of gossip is pro-social gossip.

However, some studies believe that workplace gossip will create an atmosphere of tension and fear, and increase the pressure on employees in the workplace.

Today, the total market value of industries related to celebrity gossip is as high as $3 billion. Then why is it so attractive to gossip about celebrities who have nothing to do with us? Daniel Kruger, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan in the United States, believes that this is also a legacy left by evolution. When our ancestors were still living in the wild, knowing what the high-ranking individuals in the group were doing was more conducive to our own upward movement and also helped us to understand the wind direction in small groups.