Perceived social value is more strongly linked to gossip decisions with age in adolescence

Gossip is central to social exchange, yet how adolescents select what to share and with whom remains unclear. Across two endent samples aged 10–18 years (behavioural, n = 98; fMRI, n = 101 scanned), adolescents read information about absent third parties, chose whether and with whom to share it, and rated interest, usefulness and emotional response. Sharing frequency showed no detectable age association. The association between interest ratings and sharing strengthened with age in both samples; usefulness showed a smaller age interaction. Adolescents selected close friends more often with age when sharing. During scenario reading, before participants reported choices, BOLD responses in a left inferior frontal cluster tracked subsequent interest ratings more strongly with age (n = 92), also within regions defined by a mental-state judgment localizer. Together, these findings link age in adolescence to stronger valuation-to-decision coupling for interest and a greater proportion of sharing directed to close friends.