Rumor: A current circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth. Rumors have always been a major way of getting information for teenagers all over the world. It’s hard to stop yourself from sharing that information with people, especially when it is something that seems very important. However, rumors can be very damaging.

It seems that every day a new rumor is spread about a person or a group of people, but nobody ever knows the origin, so they just believe what the last person told them. 

“Rumors that get spread are what cause the communication gaps for everybody, which is a problem.” Ms. Neilson, the family health and child development instructor, said.

There is a strong correlation between rumors and student mental health, which seems to get overlooked by peers.

“If it’s really bad,” Braidyn Smith (‘28) said. “… Just when other people look at you a certain way that you do not agree with, or something, that can affect you because it makes you feel like people aren’t seeing the real you,” Smith said.

Rumors are not always negative however. Some rumors can be referred to as “positive gossip”, but this concept can still feel uncomfortable for the people who are directly involved.

“Even good rumors about something can also bring an unnecessary weight on someone else’s shoulders,” Faith Gould (‘28), said. “I just think rumors should stop overall, because people don’t realize the effect it might have on other people, whether they’re involved or not involved.” Gould said.

Teachers are also affected by rumors daily, with them being the source of disruption during class time. How that issue is handled, depends on the teacher.

“Quite frequently they [rumors] impact our classroom,” Ms. Adcock, an English teacher said. “… I try to make them learning lessons and opportunities. If it’s impacting the entire class, take a moment and talk about it. Sometimes I will squash it because it’s not appropriate or it doesn’t need to be in class, but, um, I think it’s important that kids can talk if they feel that they’re being, you know, targeted or hurt or whatever with the rumor.”

It can be very easy to get caught up in a rumor without even noticing it. They have become so normal in the lives of students, through social media, social groups, and simply the dynamic of the school, that it’s hard to tell what’s true and what’s false. Rumors are accidentally spread all of the time, merely because of a lack of communication or knowledge of what actually happened.

“I think in high school it’s really hard not to [spread rumors], because like it’s going on all the time and like we’re children I mean, we’re still kids.” Smith said.

So, how should we as students deal with rumors? Well there are a variety of ways, but the best option is to stop it before it starts.

“Go straight to the source. Ask the person,” Neilson said. “Go to the person that’s stating the rumors. It’s all communication.”