@bkuhn: I wonder whether tendency to gossip changes with age? I don't think I've noticed any evidence of this myself. Probably has more to do with degree of social isolation.

It's almost a corollary of that that the most socially isolated people won't be victims of malicious or harmful gossip, and the least socially isolated people also won't be such victims, so the most victimized people are the somewhat socially isolated. Maybe something to ponder.