Report · Culture

Americans feel most obligated to share gossip with a partner

Reading

Partners have first claim on Americans' gossip: 39% of U.S. adults feel obligated to share it with a partner, a May 2026 Verasight survey finds, and friends are close behind at 36%.

Smaller shares feel that pull toward parents (17%), siblings (16%) or coworkers (11%), and just 2% say the obligation extends to classmates. An additional 35% point to someone else or say they never feel obligated to share gossip at all.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Americans feel most obligated to share gossip with a partner.

Which of the following people, if any, do you feel obligated to share gossip with?

  • Partner(s) 39.2%
  • Friends 36.1%
  • Other / I never feel obligated to share gossip 35.0%
  • Parent(s) 17.0%
  • Siblings 15.9%
  • Coworkers 11.4%
  • Classmates 2.2%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.3%

daily_life

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.3%
Module
daily_life

Source

Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.3%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
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Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.