Every Year, Human Beings Speak Fewer Words than They Used To, Study Suggests

"The researchers estimate that on any given day, people in the study were speaking roughly 338 fewer words than they did on that day the prior year."

"Although many have theorized that human communication and spoken word have probably declined in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that this decline has been happening far longer."

"The findings come from analysis of audio data collected from more than 2,000 participants whose daily lives were sampled through short recordings of their natural environments."

"The steady decline of spoken conversation across the dawning of the digital age of the 2000s has been charted through data gathered from 22 studies conducted over 14 years."

A study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science reveals a significant decline in spoken conversation over 14 years, from 2005 to 2019. Researchers analyzed audio data from over 2,000 participants aged 10 to 94, finding that individuals spoke approximately 338 fewer words daily compared to the previous year. This equates to about 120,000 fewer words annually. The decline in communication has been ongoing, predating the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting a long-term trend in reduced verbal interaction.

Read at Jezebel