Gossiping may make you live longer – but it won’t win you many friends | Stuart Heritage

According to a professor of evolutionary psychology, gossip has a bigger effect on your life expectancy than anything except giving up smoking. Should you start dishing the dirt, or is it better to resign yourself to an early grave?

There are upsides and downsides to working from home. Upside: I now live a life almost entirely unencumbered by trousers. Downside: the postman has figured out that I'll always take my neighbours' parcels for them. Upside: I get to spend more time with my family. Downside: most of that time is spent yelling: "Shut up I'm on a deadline I'm sorry I love you!" at them. Simultaneous upside and downside: I don't have anyone to gossip with.

That last one is an upside because gossip is a base activity reserved almost exclusively for people who revel in pettiness and jealousy. But it is also a downside, because gossip is flat-out brilliant and I really enjoy knowing what's wrong with people.