La Playa Panama - Volume 16, May 2014 | Page 8

P. 8 - LA PLAYA MAY / MAYO 2014 WWW.PLAYACOMMUNITY.COM To Advertise / Para Publicidad: [email protected] GOSSIP - WHAT'S DOES THE GRAPEVINE SAY ABOUT YOU? By Jamuna Burry gossip, but sometimes it illuminates while other times it just burns. Professor Willer from Indiana University sociology department says, “the trick is to learn to navigate between helpful and malicious or unreliable gossip". Very often gossip is all that rolled into one. T he Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ‘gossip’ as “information about the behavior and personal lives of other people”. Some sociologists say gossip is a play by play of our social evolution. Gossip provides valuable insight about who we are and where we are going as individuals and collectively as a society. New expats coming into the community gravitate towards people of similar language and background. Newcomers rely on the guiding recommendations of their new allies. Good or bad, ‘gossip’ is something that happens naturally when people share a collective identity. When it's good, it creates bonds, passes along useful information, deepens knowledge and fri