But recently female friendship and girl talk, particularly among adolescents, has drawn growing interest from psychologists and researchers examining the question of how much talking is too much talking. Some studies have found that excessive talking about problems can contribute to emotional difficulties, including anxiety and depression.
The term researchers use is 'co-rumination' to describe frequently or obsessively discussing the same problem. The behavior is typical among teens — Why didn't he call? Should I break up with him? And, psychologists say, it has intensified significantly with e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging and Facebook. And in certain cases it can spin into a potentially contagious and unhealthy emotional angst, experts say.
—Sarah Kershaw, "Girl Talk Has Its Limits," The New York Times, September 11, 2008
Ms Chew Li Huei, a part-time psychology lecturer and a psychologist in private practice, said: 'Talking about the same problems over and over again can increase a sense of despondency and negative emotions.
'It's important to differentiate between co-rumination and sharing with the aim of looking for solutions.'
While co-rumination can be detrimental to a teenager's emotional health, psychologists here said that teenagers can avoid that outcome by working towards finding a solution or a broader perspective when they talk to one another about problems.
—June Cheong, "Calling for trouble," The Straits Times, October 2, 2008
