Rumours. With the growth of the internet, rumours have spread like wildfire all over the world. You can be a part of a rumour that is spreading in the US, or Ghana, or Kazakhstan from anywhere in the world. Social media is often blamed for this spread, with blogs, Facebook and Twitter coming under fire. But are they the only ones to blame?
According to a recent study by Scientific America, maybe not. A researcher from Scientific America did a survey on American gossip habits, and found that a large portion of it consists of forwarded emails.
How many email forwards did you get in the last month? And how many did you forward yourself? Chances are it was more than just a few. If so, you are contributing to the spread of gossip, some true, others…. well not so much.
Let’s face it, email forwards are usually fun, with some crazy joke or picture that sometimes even makes you laugh out loud right there in your office. Others seem to pass on valuable information, such as on a recent crime spree in your area.
Of course, getting this info from someone you know means you are far more likely to trust it than you would an anonymous blogger. The other factor to consider is that you usually receive it from someone who believes that it is personally relevant to you. For example you may be a parent and receive an email about a crime targeting children in your area from a friend who is also a parent.
The problem comes in when an email is not very accurate, or is even just an outright hoax. If you do not realise that it is not true, you still send it on to other friends, believing you are giving them valuable info, and so it carries on, leaving more and more people paranoid.
For this reason, I have tried to get into the habit of doing research on any emails I get (other than the funny ones!). It is amazing how often you are able to find an article online denouncing that particular email as a hoax! Have you ever been caught by one of these?
At the end of last year, my mother sent me an email titled “Thanx for all your emails through the year”. It said things like:
”As we progress through the year 2010, I want to thank all of you for your educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally messed up now and have little chance of recovery.
I no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, or have the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one’s nose.
I MUST SEND MY SPECIAL THANKS to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.
ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die for the 1,387,258th time.”
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