Good question. Um...

好問題！呃...

Uh... We gossip because we know nothing better to do. Make time pass.

呃... 我們聊八卦是因為沒其他事好做了。就是打發時間。

Why do we gossip? Ah... I think to feel better about ourselves.

為何我們老愛聊八卦呢？我想是為了讓自己感覺好一些。

And to attach ourselves to the other person that we're gossiping with.

還有把我們和正在一起聊八卦的對象連結在一起。

To connect.

讓我們的連結更緊密。

We want to compare our own to theirs.

我們想要拿自己跟其他人比較。

We wanna see that they're just as valuable as we are that they make just as many mistakes.

我們想看到那些被談論的人不過就跟我們一樣，他們也跟我們犯一樣多的錯誤。

Most, uh...likely because it's kinda fun and it's kind of interesting,

大部分人，呃...可能是因為這有點好玩和有趣吧，

and it plays to that low part of everybody.

而且它讓我們看到每個人的不完美。

I think people gossip because they're focused on what's outside of them rather than what's inside.

我想人們愛聊八卦是因為他們專注於那些外在的世界而非內在的部份。

The ego loves drama, so the ego creates drama and focuses on drama.

自大的自尊心喜愛誇張的戲劇化情節，所以會創造出這些情節，並專注在這些誇張的劇情上。

So it doesn't have to feel its own pain.

如此一來，就不用感受到自我內在的痛苦。

It makes people feel like better to talk about other people's damage and brokenness.

談論其他人受到的傷害與痛苦讓人們感覺好過些。

It seems inbuilt in human nature, though there're people who don't gossip, particularly.

它似乎是人性與生俱來的一部分，儘管還是有些例外的人不愛談論八卦。

I suppose the person who is gossiping gets a certain satisfaction out of what they're saying,

我猜那些聊八卦的人從他們所聊的內容中得到了一種滿足感，

even though it may be not very pleasant or very nice.

儘管那些內容可能不是那麼令人愉悅、美好的。

It may be harmful.

它甚至可能會傷害別人的。

It's the one time we get to completely forget about our own flaws and just focus on other people's.

那讓我們完全忘記自己的缺陷，並且只專注在別人缺陷的時候。

So there's a certain amount of joy going like,

所以那確實帶來某種程度的愉悅，當人們聊著諸如：

"You know what? You know what? That guy really needs to do it if he wants to improve his life,"

「你知道嗎？你知道嗎？如果那傢伙想改善一下生活，他真的該這麼做」，

and then you go through all the things that they should do, and really a lot of it you should probably do as well.

然後你細數所有他們應該做的事情，而這些事情很可能也都是你應該要做的。

Yeah, I've heard about gossip that people have said about me. I've seen it online.

對，我有聽過別人聊我的八卦。我在網路上看到過。

People think I just like dress the way I do for attention.

他們認為我想透過穿著打扮去引起別人的注意。

That I try to be like others, but I really don't.

他們覺得我想跟其他人一樣，但我真的沒有。

I was with this girl for a while and then we broke up and people start talking about like why we broke up.

我跟這個女孩交往一陣子，然後我們分手了，接著其他人就開始傳一些像是「他們分手的原因是... 」諸如此類的流言。

That stuff there wasn't true but because other people are talking about it, people think it's true.

儘管那些內容都不是真的，但因為其他人正討論著這個話題，所以人們都認為那些事情是真的。

Someone I knew many, many, years ago...

有一位我在很多年，很多年以前認識的人...

We were very close.

我們曾經非常親密。

I happened to come in one time and saw a letter in the typewriter.

有一次我偶然碰巧看到一封留在打字機中的信。

They painted me in an unpleasant, negative way.

他們用一種無禮的、負面的方式來描述我。

It just brought the friendship to a crashing halt,

而這讓這段友誼戛然而止，

which could never ever again be revived in the same confidence or the same closeness.

因此再也不可能重建這段友誼的信心或同樣程度的親密了。

When people gossip about me, it hurts my feelings, and I didn't want to get hurt.

當人們聊我的八卦的時候，那傷害了我的感受，我也不想因此受傷。

I don't want to hurt other people.

而同時我也不想傷害別人。

Just talking about someone in no way or shape or form helps you or helps them.

任何討論八卦的方式都不會幫到你自己或他人。

But if you talk to the person as opposed to talking about them, you actually get somewhere.

但如果你能跟那個被八卦的人聊聊，而不是背後談論他們，其實才能真正地有幫助。

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