Plotkowanie jako fenomen komunikacyjny

Gossip is one of many important ways of communication in today’s world. It is a phenomenon that evolved in the era of oral communication and played a significant role in the process of consolidating the knowledge in community, long before writing was invented. Gossip is a natural and instinctive activity, both in terms of its spreading and listening. The advent of mass media added a new dimension to the phenomenon. Now there is also “institutionalized gossip” which is journalism or, speaking more generally, the activity of media. Gossip is an ambivalent phenomenon. Although it is associated with many negative aspects, it also plays an important social role, promotes the development of interpersonal relationships, development of group identity and norms, it is also an element of informal social control. We need to take care so that it would not go beyond certain norms, however, it should not be simply seen as something malicious.