I ran into an elder who I knew years ago in another part of the country the other day.
He doesn't know I have been inactive for several years (and I didn't mention it)....but within a few minutes of small talk and catch up, he starts telling me juicy stuff about ones we used to know!
I was friendly, but firm and said, "oh we probably shouldn't talk about them behind their back. Its not Christ-like to do so" and changed the subject...
So the ingrained culture of gossiping is strong in the society....