Is gossiping GOOD for you?

Pope Francis recently warned gossip 'fills the heart with bitterness and also poisons us'.

But a new study suggests that gossiping may in fact be good for our self-esteem because it allows us to compare ourselves to others.

Dutch researchers have found hearing positive and negative gossip about another individual boosts self-reflection and self-evaluation.

Dutch researchers have found hearing positive and negative gossip about another individual boosts self-reflection and self-evaluation. But they added stories about others need to be treated with a 'critical attitude'

But they added that stories about others need to be treated with a 'critical attitude' about the impact it may have.

Elena Martinescu at the University of Groningen said: 'Women who receive negative gossip experience higher self-protection concerns possibly because they believe they might experience a similar fate as the person being the target of the gossip