Poll: Gossip, why?

[ramox]

I am not talking about genre or industry related gossip here like "how many employees left IW today to move to Respawn". My topic is the good old "who is sleeping with whom" and "has starlet xy some eating disorder issues" and the like.
I spent a year working at a shop selling all kinds of publications and i couldn't believe how unbelievably well this kind of "journalism" sells. And even more puzzling, almost excusivly to the female population.
What i'm trying to figure out is this: What is it that makes the private (or not so private) lifes of famous people so incedibly fascinating to ladies? It is not even restricted to age. I've seen females from 10 to 90 spending tons of money on all kinds of magazines which more or less exclusivy deal with gossip. Royalty gossip, moviestar gossip, musicstar gossip, you name it.
Now, i'm not trying to tell anyone how to spend their money. I just want to understand what it is that makes it so damn intersting who Megan Fox sleeps with or if Brangelina are finally seperated.
When skipping through the pages of some of these mags i first thoguht it's really just to stare at the beaty and the rich. Because, well, really the only positive i can see about this are the pictures of hot chicks. But if you ever encontered a "gossip girl" you realise very fast that that's not it. They actually read this stuff, and on top of it believe any single word written in there. Even after the 12th anouncemant that Brad is leaving Angelina they still tell you "this time it's for real".

Can someone please enlighten me about this or share some ideas about why gossip is so appealing, especially to females?

 

[Legion]

Simply put, gossiping makes people feel good about themselves.

If a woman gets a good husband, has kids and a nice house then the other women pick flaws in them to make themselves feel better about themselves. If that woman gets cheated on or has something bad happen then women sympathise with them and accept "they are not above normal problems after all". It's a bitter, jealous cycle.

You can see this disturbing trend a lot just by reading the front covers of magazines, or from working in retail with mostly female colleagues.

Although it isn't only women who do this, I know a surprising amount of men who are just as bad.

 

[FinalDream]

I was born immune to celebrity gossip, i really don't care.

 

[Kelbear]

I am not talking about genre or industry related gossip here like "how many employees left IW today to move to Respawn". My topic is the good old "who is sleeping with whom" and "has starlet xy some eating disorder issues" and the like.
I spent a year working at a shop selling all kinds of publications and i couldn't believe how unbelievably well this kind of "journalism" sells. And even more puzzling, almost excusivly to the female population.
What i'm trying to figure out is this: What is it that makes the private (or not so private) lifes of famous people so incedibly fascinating to ladies? It is not even restricted to age. I've seen females from 10 to 90 spending tons of money on all kinds of magazines which more or less exclusivy deal with gossip. Royalty gossip, moviestar gossip, musicstar gossip, you name it.
Now, i'm not trying to tell anyone how to spend their money. I just want to understand what it is that makes it so damn intersting who Megan Fox sleeps with or if Brangelina are finally seperated.
When skipping through the pages of some of these mags i first thoguht it's really just to stare at the beaty and the rich. Because, well, really the only positive i can see about this are the pictures of hot chicks. But if you ever encontered a "gossip girl" you realise very fast that that's not it. They actually read this stuff, and on top of it believe any single word written in there. Even after the 12th anouncemant that Brad is leaving Angelina they still tell you "this time it's for real".

Can someone please enlighten me about this or share some ideas about why gossip is so appealing, especially to females?

Socializing.

It's a general topic that's widely referenced across a breadth of media. Some people may actually be interested in the stuff, but others just use it as a conduit for conversation that will hopefully evolve into something more complex down the road.

Tip: Even if you hate sports, it's a useful tool for career building.

 

[ramox]

Simply put, gossiping makes people feel good about themselves.

If a woman gets a good husband, has kids and a nice house then the other women pick flaws in them to make themselves feel better about themselves. If that woman gets cheated on or has something bad happen then women sympathise with them and accept "they are not above normal problems after all". It's a bitter, jealous cycle.

You can see this disturbing trend a lot just by reading the front covers of magazines, or from working in retail with mostly female colleagues.

Although it isn't only women who do this, I know a surprising amount of men who are just as bad.

While this makes sense, how come those gossipping are also happy if finally gets a new pretty girlfriend after his old one left him so devastated he had to drink and lot and take drugs?
It's not just bitterness and jealousy (though, mostly it seems) but i also see positive emotions about people they don't know and never will know.
Which is the other thing with this? Why are the stars so intersting? Using your example, would the neighbor family not be good enough to gloat over?

 

[Legion]

Simply put, gossiping makes people feel good about themselves.

If a woman gets a good husband, has kids and a nice house then the other women pick flaws in them to make themselves feel better about themselves. If that woman gets cheated on or has something bad happen then women sympathise with them and accept "they are not above normal problems after all". It's a bitter, jealous cycle.

You can see this disturbing trend a lot just by reading the front covers of magazines, or from working in retail with mostly female colleagues.

Although it isn't only women who do this, I know a surprising amount of men who are just as bad.

While this makes sense, how come those gossipping are also happy if finally gets a new pretty girlfriend after his old one left him so devastated he had to drink and lot and take drugs?
It's not just bitterness and jealousy (though, mostly it seems) but i also see positive emotions about people they don't know and never will know.
Which is the other thing with this? Why are the stars so intersting? Using your example, would the neighbor family not be good enough to gloat over?

Some people don't like to admit that their lives are so dull in comparison that they will talk about the rich and the famous as a form of escape too I imagine.

 

[Disaster Button]

I don't really enjoy celebrity gossip, I always find it a little sad, I almost pity the people that live for celebrity gossip and knowledge.

Saying that I don't mind a little gossip about my daily life that I'm actually interested, otherwise I don't really care for it.

People mainly gossip, in both senses, to feel better about themselves or their own situations and or lives.

Didn't vote in the pole however, none of the answers really apply to me.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

Mostly because lots of people are jealous bastards. They envy famous people with their sexy husbands/wives and their fortunes, so other feel the need to expose their flaws to make themselves feel adequate.

but people could just be interested in them, that could be another factor also.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

I understand it among a group of friends, and am generally only interested so I don't make a complete tit of myself when I mention a relationship which ended weeks ago. Interestingly enough I did that today.

Anyway, I don't understand the celebrity gossip and how anyone can possibly be interested in that. It's generally awfully written and quite frankly, who the fuck cares?

As for gaming gossip, I still don't care. Unless it's about a game being released then I don't really pay attention. Lawsuits and things I give a cursory glance but big names and stuff within the industry pass em by completely.

 

[ramox]

I understand it among a group of friends, and am generally only interested so I don't make a complete tit of myself when I mention a relationship which ended weeks ago. Interestingly enough I did that today.

Anyway, I don't understand the celebrity gossip and how anyone can possibly be interested in that. It's generally awfully written and quite frankly, who the fuck cares?

Now that i can relate to. People i know and more or less care about are pretty much what i would call "gossip material".

Mostly because lots of people are jealous bastards. They envy famous people with their sexy husbands/wives and their fortunes, so other feel the need to expose their flaws to make themselves feel adequate.

but people could just be interested in them, that could be another factor also.

Now why would i envy someone i know shit about? For all i know Mr. Clooney could be the saddest person on earth. Because in reality, those publications know nothing about those humans apart from what can be seen on the surface.

 

[Kagim]

Gossip originally comes fro ma survival mechanism in small tribes of humans. It was basically a way to make sure the society of the tribe didn't break down. Whenever everyone knows each others business and the possibility of being an outcast, which was pretty much a death sentence, kept social order pretty well.

The reason why its predominate in females is because back before females ran the tribes pretty much. While alpha males existed females were essentially the back bone of the tribe, gathering, nurturing and taking care of the tribe members. Females didn't hunt and spent there time mostly in groups. Information between the females was shared more quickly. While men gossip its not as much as women simply because our priorities were less socially geared.

Now a days its still pretty much the same thing. The problem is since societies have grown from fifty to 300 million gossip has grown to encompass things like celebrities and music. Its still the natural instinct to discuss what people do so you can recognize good from bad. It's also the rejection welcome instincts. Gossip can kill a celebrity if they do something bad and global rejection shoots down there career.

The other factor is gossip, negative gossip, gives people a thrill of excitement. Normally negative gossip meant danger, Ug tuk hit dug nug. The element of adrenaline learning someone might become an outcast, we get the same feeling. Its not jealousy so much as just a general adrenaline rush when we hear someone has apparently done bad things.

Pretty much its just old habits from an old age. Its not really bad either. You have the choice to drop yourself in it and you have the choice to ignore it completely. To say its bad is silly simply because you probably exhibit other traits from our ancestors. You like breasts? shame on you. You like hunting? Shame on you. You like scoring that kill in any fps? Shame on you. Most of our primary emotions and internal reward systems come from old instincts that kept us alive.

There's a lot more to it but this is the escapist not my Psy essay...

 

[DefunctTheory]

Gossip originally comes fro ma survival mechanism in small tribes of humans. It was basically a way to make sure the society of the tribe didn't break down. Whenever everyone knows each others business and the possibility of being an outcast, which was pretty much a death sentence, kept social order pretty well.

The reason why its predominate in females is because back before females ran the tribes pretty much. While alpha males existed females were essentially the back bone of the tribe, gathering, nurturing and taking care of the tribe members. Females didn't hunt and spent there time mostly in groups. Information between the females was shared more quickly. While men gossip its not as much as women simply because our priorities were less socially geared.

Now a days its still pretty much the same thing. The problem is since societies have grown from fifty to 300 million gossip has grown to encompass things like celebrities and music. Its still the natural instinct to discuss what people do so you can recognize good from bad. It's also the rejection welcome instincts. Gossip can kill a celebrity if they do something bad and global rejection shoots down there career.

The other factor is gossip, negative gossip, gives people a thrill of excitement. Normally negative gossip meant danger, Ug tuk hit dug nug. The element of adrenaline learning someone might become an outcast, we get the same feeling. Its not jealousy so much as just a general adrenaline rush when we hear someone has apparently done bad things.

Pretty much its just old habits from an old age. Its not really bad either. You have the choice to drop yourself in it and you have the choice to ignore it completely. To say its bad is silly simply because you probably exhibit other traits from our ancestors. You like breasts? shame on you. You like hunting? Shame on you. You like scoring that kill in any fps? Shame on you. Most of our primary emotions and internal reward systems come from old instincts that kept us alive.

There's a lot more to it but this is the escapist not my Psy essay...

This. I've read up on the subject before, but basically this.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

Because snobby and airheaded prep school girls have nothing else better to with their time outside of smooching and later making love to every famous quarterback they come across.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

I understand it among a group of friends, and am generally only interested so I don't make a complete tit of myself when I mention a relationship which ended weeks ago. Interestingly enough I did that today.

Anyway, I don't understand the celebrity gossip and how anyone can possibly be interested in that. It's generally awfully written and quite frankly, who the fuck cares?

Now that i can relate to. People i know and more or less care about are pretty much what i would call "gossip material".

Mostly because lots of people are jealous bastards. They envy famous people with their sexy husbands/wives and their fortunes, so other feel the need to expose their flaws to make themselves feel adequate.

but people could just be interested in them, that could be another factor also.

Now why would i envy someone i know shit about? For all i know Mr. Clooney could be the saddest person on earth. Because in reality, those publications know nothing about those humans apart from what can be seen on the surface.

But know one pays attention to something they don't know about. All they see is the fame and fortune they receive. Nobody knows them personally so there not going to comment on that

 

[Kiriona]

Short answer: People are shit.

Longer answer: People are so bored with their own petty lives that they have to go out and invade the lives of others whom they think has a more exciting existence than them. They stalk this person through various methods, either becoming so-called friends with them, or enemies, or even resorting to following them around through a camera lens. The bored individuals now have something to live for and then band together with other bored individuals and proceed into this activity known as 'gossip.'

They sit around talking, telling others what they've learned about someone's slightly more interesting life, delve into that person's personal life and go on to say whether they approve or disapprove of the way they chose to live their own lives. All in order to fool themselves into believing that they are more important than they really are and distract them from the fact that they're really nothing but petty creatures doomed to live a meaningless life as a source of taxes.

How's that?

 

[Flames66]

Not really interested. I'l sometimes look at the messes celebrities make of their lives, have a giggle and carry on.

 

[Ham_authority95]

Gossip in the media is just sensationalist shit used by tabloids to make money.

No gossip for me thank you...

Simply put, gossiping makes people feel good about themselves.

If a woman gets a good husband, has kids and a nice house then the other women pick flaws in them to make themselves feel better about themselves. If that woman gets cheated on or has something bad happen then women sympathise with them and accept "they are not above normal problems after all". It's a bitter, jealous cycle.

You can see this disturbing trend a lot just by reading the front covers of magazines, or from working in retail with mostly female colleagues.

Although it isn't only women who do this, I know a surprising amount of men who are just as bad.

You hit it right on the dot, my friend.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

I know what a brangelina is but I run from gossip magazines and news as from the plague, I dont give a damn to what they say and what is going on with the "celebrities" as it doesnt influence my life at all.

 

[armaina]

Gossip rags have always been incredibly irritating to me, I really don't know why people care so much about the minute details of someone else's lives. I have other priorities to attend to.

 

[Crystal Cuckoo]

Couldn't care less about celebrities.

However, I do enjoy hearing what Valve have been up to in updating their games and whatnot. Does that count as gaming gossip?