So When Does it Become Gossip?

Recent events have led me into some musings. 

Well, I muse a lot.  Sometimes those musings solidify into blog posts.  This is going to be one of them.

On Monday I received some terrible news, via one of my former students who is my friend on Facebook.  The news was about the tragic death of one of her classmates, another former student.  She asked me to let my mother know, because my mother was also her teacher.  Of course there are still some of my colleagues who knew this young lady, so I asked one of the girls if she thought I should let some of them know (privately, of course). 

Not long after she messaged me, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and two other former students and her classmates also posted the news, albeit without naming names.  Then I received two private messages about the tragic loss from two other girls in her class.  My mother posted in her status about the loss, again without naming names.  Some others messaged me privately asking for names, and since it was a private message I responded.  I also sent an email to the colleagues of mine who knew this young girl.

There were some circumstances surrounding her death, revealed to me by her close friends, that I shared with my mother and my colleagues.  I did share these details with some of those who privately messaged me, but not to others.

On Tuesday, the name of the former student went public on Facebook among the various circles of friends.  I have not yet seen any public postings about the circumstances, and I personally do not intend to share that detail in public.

Which leads me to my musings.  The beauty of social media such as Facebook is that it allows people to connect with each other quickly and efficiently.  We can offer support, criticism, and news to a wide circle of individuals. 

Hence my question in the title...when does this sharing turn the corner and become gossip?  Is gossip in the intent of the reporter?  Does news become gossip if the recipient takes it as such?  Has social media made it easier to gossip or is it just another avenue for a vice we all share?

That's what's worrying me, in this situation in particular.  And I don't know the answers to any of my questions.  It is certainly NOT my intent to share this news as gossip, but I worry that I am feeding the desire for gossip in some of the recipients.

As often happens, ANOTHER former student posted a link to an article about social media that had some relevance to my musings.   Again, I'm still not sure of where I stand on whether or not I'm gossiping, but this article was quite interesting.

5 Questions to Ask Before Posting to Social Media