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Mizzou | Wellness

A Healthier Alternative to Gossiping

Olivia Macko Student Contributor, University of Missouri
Mizzou Contributer Student Contributor, University of Missouri
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Mizzou chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

If you are anything like me, you enjoy spilling tea every now and then. While I was never one to tell others things, my friends would tell me things they had overheard. As time went on, though, I started to wonder how much of this gossip was true, and how much was actually just a nasty rumor. I couldn’t imagine if people were spreading false rumors about me, and so I tried to stop partaking in the gossip. Still, part of me wanted to know what was going on with other people.

During quarantine, my boyfriend sent me a Reddit link. I know, I know–Reddit? I thought the same thing. Luckily, Reddit has taken a hard stance on what you may infamously know Reddit for: incels. After spending some time on Reddit myself, I’ve not come across anything of the sort either. Unfortunately, some people using the site for the wrong reasons resulted in Reddit getting a bad name.

Anyway, curiosity killed the cat, and I could not avoid looking at the link my boyfriend shared with me. The link sent me to a post under r/relationship_advice. As you might expect, the writer of the post was asking for relationship advice. After checking out the post, I got hooked. Not only was I able to get my fix of gossip, but I was also able to give people advice–all while remaining anonymous. 

Since I started going through the relationship advice subreddit, I no longer feel like I need to hear gossip from my friends. I realized that it is a much healthier way to get tea if I feel like it’s needed. Plus, the relationship advice subreddit is a much better option, because the people who post on there genuinely want help from a community of people. I no longer want to be part of such a negative cycle in which false rumors get passed around. It can be so damaging to the people the rumors are about, and I have zero interest in doing something that could hurt someone for a long time.

If you are looking for a change in how you get your gossip, I strongly recommend the relationship advice subreddit, especially if you’re someone who likes giving out advice and helping people.

Hi! I'm Olivia, and I'm a sophomore at Mizzou studying Atmospheric Science. I spend my free time listening to music (Glass Animals are my favorite), watching documentaries, looking at the sky, and playing Pokemon Go, Fortnite, and The Sims!
HC Contributer Mizzou