Modern men can’t keep a secret, a new study has revealed. Researchers revealed that contrary to the common stereotype which suggests women can’t wait to pass on a piece of gossip, it seems men are actually the first to spill someone’s secret.
Thanks to the increase in social media and text messaging, men no longer wait until they next see their mates in the pub and will share a piece of gossip less than three hours after first hearing it.
And almost half of blokes admitted to blabbing about a secret within minutes of first being told about it; women will keep it to themselves for at least three and a half hours before passing it on.
A spokesman for the release of The Fifth Estate on Blu-ray and DVD, who commissioned the survey to mark its launch said:
"It’s fascinating to see that for years, women have been named the biggest gossips, and have the stereotype of being people who can’t wait to pass on a juicy secret as soon as they hear it.
"But it’s actually the modern man who is now giving them a run for their money.
"Back in the day, women would pick up the phone as soon as possible to share a great secret they had just been told, while men would just wait until the next time they saw their mates.
"Now, with easy access to Facebook, email and text messages, it’s so much easier for them to blab about something as soon as they hear it.
"This now means many men are actually spilling the beans quicker than their female counterparts.
"These results seem to show that if you want to keep a secret – don’t trust a man!"
The study of 2,000 adults found that the average man will keep a secret to themselves for an average of around two hours and 47 minutes – almost 40 minutes less than women.
More than one in ten guys even admitted to blabbing someone’s private secret within 10 minutes or less of first finding out about it.
Despite this, an optimistic 92% of men consider themselves to be good at keeping secrets.
It also emerged that men are most likely to spill the beans after finding out a friend is having an affair; followed by discovering someone is lying and a work colleague having an office affair or romance.
Worryingly, one in twenty men admitted they would share a piece of gossip with at least five different people, including their partner, friends and work colleagues.
And they currently have an average of two secrets under wraps.
Unsurprisingly, the study also found that men are more likely to end up at loggerheads with their mates after spilling someone’s secrets.
Three in ten guys have fallen out with someone after spreading gossip about them, with almost one in ten saying they still aren’t talking because of it.
But just a quarter of women have the same problem.
TOP TEN SECRETS TO BLAB
1. A friend is having an affair
2. Someone was lying about something
3. My boss/colleague is having an office romance
4. Someone I know is pregnant
5. Someone has been in trouble with the police
6. Someone was lying about their job or salary
7. I know someone who has had/is having plastic surgery
8. A friend has had a windfall
9. A friend/colleague is in financial trouble
10. A friend/colleague is having trouble in the bedroom department
