Rob Wilder, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, has researched the prosocial aspects of gossip. So ingrained in us is the need to gossip that we would willingly pay to do it. Something that has deep evolutionary roots was at least beneficial at some point, and it appears that it is still an important tool in navigating the world. In fact, with more social connection than ever, its benefits might be even more significant.

After having shown advantages to gossip, Rob’s final study recruited people via the internet and had them participate in a study where they could behave in a trustworthy way or not. If they were untrustworthy, they would make more money and benefit personally. Under conditions where they could be gossiped about in a future interaction, the threat of gossip deterred people from behaving in an untrustworthy way.

The prosocial behaviour demonstrated when gossip is possible is a single example of how it helps society run more smoothly. Not everything harmful to be made illegal because humans will naturally take the reputational cost of action seriously.