Girl talk vs Guy Talk! Is there a Difference?

Psssst... Wanna know who gossips more – girls or guys?

According to a recent research study of cellphone users (performed by the Social Issues Research Centre) men are the bigger gossipers!

Yes…spread the word!

33 % of men confessed to gossip every day - or almost every day -- compared with a lesser 26 % of women.

For the record, the study defined gossip as "chatty talk among friends" and "the process of informally communicating value-laden information about members of a social setting."

Yup – that counts as gossip to me!

And for those of you who stubbornly can't believers that guys love to dish as much - if not more than - the ladies – there were also 3 other recent studies – one at the University of Virginia, one at Northeastern University in Boston, and one at University of Wisconsin – which all confirmed gossip is pretty much a gender-neutral urge!

So here’s more gossip about gossip:

1. 2/3 rds of all cell conversations were reported to be a form of gossip – everything from who is doing what with whom; who is 'in' and who is 'out' and why; how to deal with difficult social situations; problems with lovers, family, friends, colleagues and neighbors.

2. Women were more likely than men to gossip mainly with family and girlfriends.

3. Men dished mostly with work colleagues, their spouse/partner, or female friends.

4. Men revealed they found it easier to gossip with women than men.

5. Male and female gossip has been shown to sound different. Women use more animated tones, more detail and prefer more interactive feedback.

6. Only about 5% of gossip-time is devoted to criticism.

7. Another 5 % is devoted to asking for or giving advice on difficult personal social situations.

8. The other 90% of gossip is focused on 'who is doing what with whom'

9. In daily conversation, males only discussed high-brow' important' subjects (aka: politics, work, art, academic matters, etc.) only 0-5 % of the time. However, when women were present,this number upped to 15-20%! Researchers proposed men went more
high-brow around the ladies to impress the ladies!

9. Men spent more time talking about themselves – with 2/3rds of talk being about themselves and their own affairs. Meanwhile women talked about themselves only 1/3rd of the time!

Why do we gossip?

According to psychologist Robin Dunbar we’re evolutionary hard- wired for it. Gossip is the human equivalent of the 'social grooming' seen among our primate cousins -- where they pick out nits and twigs from each other’s fur, to bond and feel close.

Hmmm…. think about that phrase “to keep in touch”! It sorta sounds like the definition of animals' Nit-n-Twig Plucking, doesn’t it?

Here’s another theory on gossip. According to psychologist Geoffrey Miller, gossip evolved as a helpful courtship device – as the human equivalent of a peacock tail. Basically, gossip is what we humans use to compete for and attract sexual partners, because it’s how we 'advertise' or 'self-promote' our social status, values, and intelligence. Gossip is our Great Do I Bond Or Not Bond Determinator! It's what reveals which behaviors you and other people find acceptable -- or unacceptable -- and thereby if you find your gossiper or gossipee acceptable or unacceptable for further socialization purposes!

With this in mind, if you want to become a far more popular member of any group (aka your office, an organization, a local community) just start to listen more carefully to this group’s critical gossip. You’ll quickly discover people’s boundaries and rules -- and thereby know what to do -- or not do -- to make sure you're a welcomed member of this group!

And gossip has even been shown to improve health! Just as ‘social grooming’ between primates stimulates endorphins, making animals more relaxed – the 'vocal grooming' we call gossip also been researched to relax humans, and lower blood pressure.

It’s sort of funny when you think about the odd evolution of gossip since its stone age origins.

In the last few decades, with modern, busy urban life the way it is, scattering families and friends, and busying people up with far too much to do, there’s been a veritable epidemic of social isolation – with little time to indulge in this vocal-grooming called gossip.

Sure, for a while we had the the cosiness of gossip over the garden fence. As well as those satisfying quickie hits of 'Hello, nice day isn't it?' as we passed our friends and family in the local village.

But as modern world speeded us up and separated us apart, for a long while even those simple and comforting friendly 'Hello, nice day isn't it?' had fallen by the way side.

Now…enter the space-age technology of mobile cellphones… and finally we’re back once again to enjoying our daily “vocal- grooming” patterns -- with the same ease and frequency of “constant touch” not shared together since stone-age times!

Thank you, modern cell phone, for helping to scratch our stone age itch once again!