So, say you have a friend that has the urge to talk about EVERYONE. No matter what the conversation is, she just cannot say anything nice about anyone.
You love this person and she is near and dear, but you try your hardest to steer clear of the gossip girl. You never have input but you wanna be a good example so that maybe, eventually, she will learn to follow.
Do you just accept her for who she is or do you take a step further and try to intervene?
If you want to continue the friendship then I don’t think it is a bad idea to mention it to her. If she is a good friend I assume you think a lot of her. She may not be aware of the impression she is giving. I say let her know that you feel uncomfortable talking about other people.
You don’t have to be mean about. She may appreciate the heads up and enjoy changing for the better. You could make little comments, for instance; “that’s mean” and things like that.
If you don’t consider her a good friend or feel she would not appreciate the constructive criticism then I would say to distance yourself even further. You don’t want someone bringing you down.
If you just ignore it and continue to l listen I think you will eventually be grouped with that type of behavior, be called out for being a part of a conversation or hear something that puts you in an awkward position.