Proper language is a habit that has to be practiced. Just wishing it doesn't make it happen. Essentially, any statement that hurts someone physically, emotionally or financially is considered gossip or slander, and that includes derogatory statements that may be true, cutting repartee, caustic rebukes and mockery. Rothschild recommends that people initially try spending one hour a day not gossiping, and then gradually increase the length of time. The potential for change, he said, is tremendous, given that people may have a hundred conversations daily.
Words have awesome power.
But the battle against gossip has been a long and mostly unsuccessful one, partly because it's such a fixture of human communication, according to Dan Santoro, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. Maybe, at one time, gossip was news if you lived in a village and there were no formal channels for disseminating information. In pre-industrial societies, he said, relationships were based on customs and traditions. The fear of your reputation being questioned kept people in line. In our society right now, it has just become a big industry.