I'm intrigued by gossip and such. At the school gate I liked observing. Some ways of gossip are like a social lubricant that comes with benefits. When something needs to be organised in a short time frame, it is people attending a certain type of gossip that get the job done within half a day or less. As if their type of gossip only is used to oil the channels of communication, to keep the whole machine nicely lubricated. Amazing stuff. Things talked about are kids, illnesses and soap series.
Then there are people using positive gossip. Telling nice things about others. Those groups were small, most one on one conversations. They are often willing to help someone out.
And there is the nasty group. Those groups are bigger. Nothing good seems to come out of them. Best to avoid people like that like the plague. The way they talk about an other is the way they will talk about each other when in a different group.
Gossip can be fun to observe.