Most everyone has played a round or two of the game "telephone." One person starts with a sentence and whispers it to the next person. The goal is to see how the final sentence differs from the original.

In the game, everyone giggles and laughs at the outcome. But in real life, when gossip is the message being transmitted, the result can be hurtful.

Y-Press recently talked with four middle schoolers at St. Jude Catholic School about their experiences with gossip. They are Emily Buckley, 14; Samer Kawak, 14; Alyssa Schaler, 12; and Tricia Schutz, 13.

Definition of gossip

Emily: Gossip is just when you talk about somebody behind their back. I don't think it necessarily has to be bad.

Alyssa: Gossip is something you do to people who you don't necessarily like.

Tricia: Gossip is basically talking, and it could be in front of somebody or behind their back. It's most likely not true.

Emily: Sometimes it starts out as being true. But then people like to get a better story, or just have more people listen, and they might add onto it.

Who gossips

Emily: I think it's just people looking for a story, like if they want to draw attention to themselves or make another person look bad.

Samer: I feel that it's everybody. I mean, when I hear a story, I admit I want to pass it on to the next person. But I try and say, "You know, keep it low." But it's going to spread to everybody, and everybody is gonna tell it to their friends, and their friends are gonna tell it to their friends.

Alyssa: Guys gossip as much as girls do.

Samer: Us guys don't really think it's gossip. We just think we're saying something.

Why people gossip

Tricia: It's normally people who are attention strivers in your class and also people who are a little insecure about themselves. Because instead of people saying something about them, they want people to be focused on what other people are saying about someone else.

Emily: Maybe they're insecure about themselves, or they want to just put somebody down, like a less fortunate person, so they can be popular.

Samer: People want attention. . . . When you're in a group and somebody has something to say, you want to listen to them.

Regrets

Emily: I don't think about it when I'm saying it because I'm thinking about how funny or how bad it is. But . . . after I say it, I'll think about, "Oh that was mean," and if that was me, I wouldn't want people to say stuff like that about me.

Alyssa: Sometimes in my class we talk about other people bad behind their backs. It's not very nice, and I really feel sorry about it afterwards.

Samer: I don't really get affected by what other people say because I know it's not true.

Emily: If I trust a person and I think they're my friend, and they'll have said something bad about me, that'll sting. And I think it'll leave a lasting impression on you, more than getting hit or something like that.

Tricia: (People) can say something really mean that will hurt your self-confidence, and sometimes you can never regain that.

Advice to others

Alyssa: If you spread rumors or gossip about other people, you need to think, "Are you gonna be treated the same way that you treat other people?"

Emily: In the end, it's not gonna matter because that story will eventually blow over, and it's not gonna matter what the story was. What's gonna matter is who you hurt and if people know you as a gossip, or know that you're not gonna be loyal.

Tricia: If people step back and think about what they're doing, they really wouldn't want to do it, and they would not want to be treated that way.

REPORTERS: Paige Thomas, 13; Cakey Worthington, 11; Katie Ciresi, 13.