Gossip is a consequence of our evolution
As humans, we can’t help but be drawn in by the mystery of what goes on behind closed doors. Particularly, the closed doors of the rich and famous, be they celebrities or royalty. Usually, the inner circles of their lives are inaccessible and tremendously private. So when something shatters the carefully maintained veneer of celebrity perfection, we can’t help but be comforted, amused and shocked by their fallible humanity.
Our obsession with celebrity gossip isn’t because we’re frivolous or unintelligent. Neither is it a particularly gendered mode of speech, as we’ve been led to believe. Rather, celebrity gossip heightens a very human aspect of our species. We are social creatures with a penchant for tending to and talking about our interpersonal bonds.
In his book Grooming, Gossip And The Evolution Of Language, Professor Robin Dunbar tells us that around two-thirds of our conversations are taken up with “matters of social import”. Our world, he says, is “cocooned in the interests and minutiae of everyday life”, much like that of our hairier, more distant relatives, the apes.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.stylist.co.uk ’
