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I can still remember the feeling.
Photo: Getty Images
A crumpled-up note passed across the classroom.
A furtive glance to see if the teacher had spotted us.
And the ballpoint pen-scrawled secrets curled up inside:So-and-so has a crush on you.
Orblah blah fancies blah blah.Whatever it is that teenagers tend to gossip about.
I dont gossip like that as an adult.
But I retain an avid interest in the lives and motivations of others (sorry,Eleanor Roosevelt).
Gossip isnt exactly considered a worthy pastime, however.
Were not supposed to speak about the business of othersespecially when it doesnt pertain to our own.
And I get that.
A pact, a shared love of yapping.
Sometimes, I wonder if I was born this way.
My partner, by comparison, isnt massively interested in gossip.
Its not a moralistic thingshed just rather play guitar or read sci-fi books.
She simply wont have asked.
Which leaves me wondering: Am I just a mega-superficial person?
Should I, in the spirit of Erika Jayne, actually be giving up drama for Lent?
I dont think loving gossip always makes you a bad person.
In many ways, I think its helped me with my work.
My profound love of gossip also, I think, makes me an attentive listener.
Which is not to say that gossip is always harmlessmany times, its not.
And, as social creatures, were hardwired for connectiongossip is a part of that.
Numerousstudieshave shown that gossip can facilitate closeness, while also maintaining social order.
In other words, weve developed this way because it benefits us socially.
There was a time, in my early 20s, when I actually relished it.
Maybe I was just young and now Im older.
It doesnt really matter.
The most interesting and engaging conversations often dont involve any mention of other people.
But, saying that, my love of gossip will forever endure.
