I looked more closely at the research I cited here a couple of days ago which claimed, in essence, that gossip is good.
In a curious move, the authors broaden the definition of gossip far beyond "primarily negative evaluative commentary about absent individuals" and "baseless trash talk" to include "chit-chat", "idle talk", and "self-disclosure" among other things.
So, talking about yourself is part of this study's definition of gossip.
I fail to understand the reasoning behind redefining the term "gossip", studying it, and then declaring this new definition to be a social good.
I am pretty certain that the Bible does not have "self-disclosure" in mind when it roundly and repeatedly condemns "gossip". What the Bible says about gossip - and what terms it uses for the phenomenon - would make for an interesting "deep dive" into Scripture.
I might have to take on that project when I get the time since I have seen firsthand the incredible destructive power of gossip - of the "negative evaluative commentary about absent individuals" kind. And it seems like a sin that is commonly winked at by most Christians. (Is that because we all enjoy it so much?)
Beyond redefining gossip, the gossip study also downplays the amount of gossiping (as traditionally understood) that we tend to do: "in daily life, “social policing” has been estimated to comprise a mere 5% of naturally occurring private conversations."
Considering the researchers also cite 16,000 as the number of words most adults speak in a day's span, the math works out to 800 words a day spoken against other people behind their backs.
(For reference, this entire post consists of roughly 300 words.)
Does that match with your own experience?
Doesn't the Lord expect us to bring that number of critical words down closer to zero?
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