Dealing With The Gossip
Echos of whispers fill the halls as a rumor spreads around like the game of telephone, the story changing from person to person. Although highschoolers are extremely used to gossip, and many partake in it themselves, it still has an impact on a person’s mental health especially if the rumor going around is false, as most are. Personally I feel like the saying “Oh my gosh did you hear what he/she did?” is more common than giving a compliment these days. Even if someone means zero harm in what they say, gossip can be twisted so many ways that the majority of the time the outcome is never pleasant, and most students can agree.
“A way that high school can become a toxic environment for someone is when people like to spread fake rumors about people just to make them feel better about themselves,” Pahul Kaur, 9 said. Listen to the full interview here.
Putting someone down to lift yourself up happens more than people like to admit in high school. This might look like judging their outward appearance or how they act with others. A person might reflect blame on someone else for their own wrong doings just to justify the way they acted. But when you throw in a rumor to that mix, it gets ugly fast. A Mmajority of people feel compelled to be seen in a good light and when someone false about them is spreading around the school; like a disease, it can impact their school experience as a whole. This might look like the student becoming less engaged in classes, less enthusiastic with their friends, and overall just more as a body than a person. Just because someone did something wrong doesn’t mean they need to bring someone else down with them.
Luckily there are many websites and organizations these days to help someone get through situations like this.
One organization that fits into that category is Tilly’s non-profit organization that specializes in trying to help teenagers deal with the gossip high school and life in general can bring. Throughout their page they show ways of avoiding, stopping, and overcoming toxic interactions and words.
People around the school have also had advice when it comes to dealing with rumors at school.
“I’d say to just know your worth almost and know who you are and just never forget it,” Campbell Pace, 9 said. Listen to the full interview here.
When you know who you are, and don’t let people change the way you act, it becomes a lot easier to brush negative comments about you off. For example, if someone is going around the school telling people something that is completely out of character for you, it tends to be less harmful if you can know that’s not who you are and brush it off.