How Fast Did Teen Gossip Spread Before Social Media? This 1963 Musical Number has the Answer

Want to spread gossip? Then tell a teen. The very worst age group with which to share a secret – or even something you don’t want spread about – is to spill the beans to a teenager. These days, emails, text messages, social media and apps of varying degree of iniquity – all combine to ensure that when Kim and Hugo get together, and Kim texts Kathy to tell her – that the entire world will know within approximately thirty seconds. It may seem like a modern phenomenon, but it is only the methods of communication that have changed. And this clip from 1963 proves it more than adequately but with a lot of charm. Back then, it was all about the spoken word but way, way more importantly, it was about the telephone. I used to continually astonish my parents that after seeing my friends all day in school, I would find the need (let alone the things to say) to phone them in the evening. Not for a few minutes, of course. We would natter on about pretty much anything and everything, anyone and…