GossipGossip, as defined by Webster's New World Dictionary, is "one who gossips without caring about others." I think gossip is ethically wrong. Gossip is usually done by talking about people behind their backs, which is very painful for the person being talked about. No one wants to be talked about, whether the information is true or not. People who gossip often feel like they're doing it to better themselves and find themselves trapped in the trap of trying to make themselves feel better by putting others down. Is this true, or are they actually hurting each other? Gossip does not do the most good for the most people. Even though a person may think they might gain something from gossiping, it can often hurt. An example of this would be when an employee gossips about a co-worker. In doing so, he loses his credibility with his employer and his colleagues. Gossip is commonplace in the newspaper industry. You could say that magazines like the National Enquirer and the Star, which specialize in gossip, do the most good for the most people. They create jobs and entertain a lot of people, but they also harm a lot of people. They tell exaggerated truths and outright lies about innocent people. Subscribers to these magazines have a distorted view of reality and some may even begin to believe this view. The same thing can happen to the magazine journalist and harm him as well. Unfortunately, we have all been guilty of gossip at one time or another, and we have all been victims of it too. I think there are three possible responses when we are confronted with gossip. We could speak openly and kindly but firmly tell the person that gossip is hurtful and no one benefits from it. We could turn the conversation around by saying something nice about the person we're talking about. Alternatively, we could walk away and not be part of the problem by standing around and listening. Gossip is bad and we must stand by our beliefs. No one is helped by gossip and anything that hurts someone else is bad..