America’s at a loss for words!
Spoken language is dying, with people speaking about 30% fewer words a day than they did 20 years ago — fueling a “loneliness epidemic” of disconnected convenience-seekers, according to a new study and experts.
Small talk is all but disappearing as the average person speaks 338 fewer words daily every year that’s passed since 2005, according to the report, published in the Perspectives on Psychological Science.
“There may be cognitive, social and emotional implications — relationships we form outside of speaking are not as strong,” said the study’s co-author, Valeria Pfeifer of the University of Missouri–Kansas City, told The Post on Friday.
“We may experience more loneliness and disconnectedness,” Pfeifer said. “Having more spoken conversation is tied to psychological well-being.”
Overall, people speak an average of 12,792 words per day now, according to the study of roughly 2,200 participants, largely in the US.
The loss of language was worst among people under age 25, who spoke an average of 451 fewer words a year compared to 314 words annually for participants 25 and older—a 44% bigger decline for the younger group.
The plunge is likely tied to “convenience economy” in which people have fewer interpersonal reactions — opting instead to have everything from groceries to restaurant meals delivered, Pfeifer said.
“Likely a contributing factor is we have technology replacing situations where we have to talk to each other,” she said.
“You can use an app to order your coffee instead of talking to your barista, for example.”
Less spoken conversation could also trigger communication-related cognitive problems, said Pfeifer, who co-authored the study with Matthias Mehl of the University of Arizona.
Communicating by text message and other typed conversations creates weaker social bonds than face-to-face ones, and nuance of communication is often lost in them, Pfeife saidr.
“It’s possible it may be contributing to the loneliness epidemic, and people feeling more isolated,” the expert said.
For the study, researchers analyzed participants ages 10 to 94 using a device that passively recorded parts of their day.
The analysis combined data from 22 separate studies conducted between 2005 and 2019, mostly in the US but also in Mexico, Australia and Europe.
The trend has likely worsened since 2019 after the pandemic as remote work and social distancing have dramatically limited casual in-person conversation, experts said.
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