Life's a Big, Complicated Game of Telephone

I'd really be interested in finding out if there's ever been research on what engineers us to be nosey creatures. It seems like everywhere you can look, there's some form of curiosity about everyone else's business.

Take Facebook for example- a good majority of the peeps on Facebook have hundreds of friends. HUNDREDS!! I even know a few people with a thousand. Now there are a few exceptions to the "curiosity" rule, like the people who just really want a big number, or the people that are local celebrities that get friend requests every day from people they've come across. But what's the reasoning for the rest of us? I have 241 friends on facebook and I can honestly say that I regularly interact with about 50, whether it's in person or over the phone. I can honestly say I've added some of the bitches and assholes I knew in high school just to satisfy my curiosity to see if they grew up to be adult bitches and assholes. Come on, admit it- you've done the same at least once.

And tabloids? Seriously. Even People has turned into one, it's just a fancier tabloid. Why do we HAVE to know what goes on in the lives of celebrities. Does it really matter that Kirstie Alley has gained all her weight back? Or that Lindsay Lohan has yet again screwed up? Not really. We just need to know. 

Going back to Facebook, status updates have almost become a new way to gossip. Someone posts a cryptic update? If you don't comment on it asking for more information, you're probably going to call your mutual friends and ask if they know what's up. Or if the status update is straight forward, or if a relationship status changes, you'll probably start the gossip phone tree about that one too. We've all done it some point or another. Nosey, much?

I really do have a theory that there is something about our genetic engineering that makes us curious. It starts early and every kid goes through a "why?" stage. Take my stepdaughter for example. If I put on my shoes to go outside for something, or talk about my plans for the day, she's gotta know what I'm doing, where I'm going and why. Of course she's too young at five to understand gossip or really have an interest in it. But something in her head makes her need to know for her own sake.

And there's another side of gossip that confuses me even more that doesn't entirely apply to everyone. There are some people that just enjoy being the center of attention that thrive on people talking about them. It's almost like creating yourself into a mini-celebrity. Positive, negative and neutral attention is still attention so they take what they can get. I just don't understand it. What hey, whatever toots your flute.

Not a big entry today, just something that I've often wondered about. I'm just curious about what makes us curious. Ironic!!