For some reason aldaily thought it was worthwhile to link to this piece concocted by the august-sounding Social Issues Research Centre.

Executive Summary

Gossip is not a trivial pastime: it is essential to human social, psychological and even physical well-being. The mobile phone, by facilitating therapeutic gossip in an alienating and fragmented modern world, has become a vital ‘social lifeline’, helping us to re-create the more natural communication patterns of pre-industrial times.

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The research was commissioned by BT Cellnet © 2001