by Barbara Kasey Smith

Created on: July 18, 2009

Teen advice: The harmful effects of gossip...gossip involving a teenager can destroy a teens self-esteem, self-confidence, give them a complex, turn them away from their once friends, ruin their reputation, etc., etc. I've seen teenagers totally destroyed in high school because of vicious gossip about them to other students. Most of the gossip is untrue and brought on by jealously of another friend or peer. Many young teenage girls are gossiped about because they think a young man another girl likes is cute. Answer this question? Is this cause to start a vicious rumor about someone who is your friend? All because they thought another friends infatuation is handsome?

This is a horrible reaction and a means of cruelty to another human being! A lot of teenagers use gossip to control their friends and by doing this if they want a friend omitted from their gang, they'll start some awful gossip about the teen to turn others against the person. This is utterly ridiculous and it is felt this person should be reprimanded or dismissed from school for a couple of days.

I've known cases where teenagers have actually committed suicide because of vicious, untrue, gossip being passed around throughout the school about them. I've also seen teenagers actually skip school and do anything to keep from going to school because of gossip going through the school about them. This affects all aspects of their ability to function properly in class and the teen falls into a shell afraid to be active in any of their school activities. Teenagers have a rough enough time adjusting to becoming an adult without having another friend turning their lives into sheer misery.

Wake up teenagers, other teens do not like the punishment gossip brings to their daily school days. It causes the teenager to not only hate their days at school but their lonely evenings alone at night. How would you like for the shoe to be on the other foot? Gossip can ruin a youngsters life and destroy their final high school years. Would you like to have a death on your hand because of the gossip you started about another teenager who was once your closest friend? Believe me, this is a terrible situation to put any teenager through and it is believed a person doing this should be punished to the hilt.

I've also seen teenagers drop out of school because they couldn't face another day at school because of the bulling from once friends. Teenagers this is totally unfair and to brand a person with vicious gossip that wasn't true in the first place is cruel. Do you know you have branded a vicious lie on someone for the rest of their life and they have "no" way of truly defending themselves? How would you like this type situation to face your life?

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