Late at night in the dorms, a quiet conversation passes from one student to another. By the next morning, nearly everyone on campus seems to know the story.
Teenagers are the most common perpetrators of gossip. At the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, one of only three residential high schools in the state, the effects of gossip are only worsened. In an environment in which students are always together, information is spread far quicker.
Gossip is an important part of MSMS culture, and knowing the latest gossip is something that carries social value. The personal lives of students at MSMS are more greatly intertwined than seen in normal high schools, and consequently, gossip often hits closer to home. It is hard for students to stop from participating in gossip when not being in the loop means one is left out.
Junior James Cancellare said the small and tight-knit culture at MSMS contributes to gossip.
“If you see something crazy or something exciting is happening, you’re going to want to share it,” Cancellare said. “That’s just human nature, and I think it is really hard to effectively minimize it.”
Gossip at MSMS spreads both in-person and online. Group chats and social media allow information to reach students who were not originally involved. Unlike most schools, at MSMS, where students live just doors apart, gossip spreads as easily as a knock on the door. In a student survey, 53% of 38 responding students reported they did not make an effort to avoid spreading and receiving gossip at MSMS. Additionally, students reported rumors as the main topic of gossip, with achievements being the least.
In many cases, the information being shared is inaccurate. As stories pass from one person to another, details are often exaggerated or changed, and it is hard for the truth to keep up with the rumor. Junior Grayson Garrick said gossip negatively impacts people when it creates a false narrative.
“I don’t think anyone ever gets over gossip. I think we get wrapped up in new things so we forget about the old things,” Garrick said. “With something that should have maybe been kept personal, it [can] spread to both Goen and Frazer [halls], and maybe that is something we all need to work on.”
Cancellare said those who gossip without being aware tend to overshare, often leading to negative consequences.
“It is really hard to have everything you do fly under the radar, and MSMS being a residential school means we’re around each other all the time,” Cancellare said. “When negative things are said behind someone’s back, it has negative impacts such as feeling hurt and losing friends.”
Gossip can damage relationships, reputations and trust between students. According to a study by the National Library of Medicine, gossip has been shown to increase suicidal thoughts and induce anxiety.
“I have seen a lot of people lose their friend groups or their friends in totality due to some sort of gossip,” Counselor Heath Stevens said. “If you said something to someone and you expected confidence or confidentiality and that confidentiality was broken, that is probably going to cause a rift within a friendship.”
Yet many students gossip without awareness or care of these negative consequences. Stevens said he has witnessed situations that crossed the line into bullying.
“We have had situations where people had to go to counseling and parents have gotten involved,” Stevens said. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. You have to be careful. If you don’t know something is true, certainly don’t repeat it.”
Gossip affects students mentally, academically and socially. Junior Rutwa Patel said gossip is unavoidable, though steps can be taken to minimize its spread.
“You could tell two people something, and somehow the next day, the whole school knows,” Patel said. “Gossip is hard to prevent, but we can all try to keep things closer to ourselves.”
