If it feels like people are texting more and actually talking less… you’re not imagining it.
A new study says we’re speaking WAY fewer words every day than we did just a decade ago—and experts are starting to worry 👀
📊 The numbers
Researchers from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and the University of Arizona found that:
- In 2005, people spoke about 16,632 words per day 🗣️
- By 2019, that dropped to just 11,900 words 😳
That’s a 28% decrease
And since the study didn’t include post-pandemic data… there’s a good chance it’s even lower now.
📱 Why is this happening?
Honestly? Technology is doing most of the talking for us.
Think about it:
- Text messages 💬
- Emails 📧
- Social media DMs 📲
- Ordering food without speaking to a human 🍔
- Self-checkout everything 🛒
We’re just interacting differently now.
🧠 Why experts care
Talking isn’t just about filling silence—it actually helps build important social skills.
When you have a real conversation, your brain has to:
- Listen carefully 👂
- Process what the other person said
- Form a response
- Control your reaction
…and do all of that in about 200 milliseconds 😵
That kind of communication matters more than we realize.
👶 Younger people are feeling it more
The trend is even stronger with younger adults.
Each year:
- People under 25 lost about 451 words a day
- People over 25 lost about 314 words a day
Probably because younger people grew up with more screens and less face-to-face interaction.
🤔 The bigger issue
Some experts think shorter attention spans might also be making it harder to hold conversations…
…and fewer conversations might be making attention spans worse.
Basically: it’s a cycle 🔄
🗣️ Final thought
Maybe we should start treating words like steps.
You’ve heard of 10,000 steps a day…
What about 10,000 words? 😂📱
Either way, maybe it’s time to call someone instead of texting them “lol” for the 47th time today.