You know how something can sound BOTH surprising, AND not at all shocking, at the same time? Well here’s another example:
According to researchers at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Arizona: In 2005, we spoke about 16,632 words every day. But by 2019, that number had fallen to 11,900 words. That’s a 28% decrease.
For some reason, the study didn’t have data more recent than that, but the thinking is that it’s even FEWER words now, post-pandemic.
Which presents an interesting challenge: If your phone had a WORD-COUNTER along with a step-counter, would you say more words or take more steps in a given day? Should we aim for at least 10,000 of BOTH???
Obviously, the BIGGEST reason for this shift is technology, particularly text messaging.
There’s also emails, social lives retreating into online spaces, and readily available information and services that require less interaction.
Some experts are concerned about this trend, because talking “requires you to pay attention to what the other person is saying, formulate a response, and control your physical reaction, all within about 200 milliseconds.” These interpersonal skills are important to learn, develop, and master.
It is slightly more common among younger people.
Each year, people under 25 lost an average of 451 words a day, while those older than 25 lost 314 words a day. That could be because older adults are more used to talking in certain situations, and use less technology.
Some experts say our “shortened attention spans” might also make it harder to hold a conversations, and that could eat into itself, if you consider that attention spans could be decreasing because we’re having fewer conversations.
