Why is daily communication increasingly shrinking?

Over the past 15 years, people have started speaking an average of hundreds of words less every day. According to research results, this process can affect not only daily communication, but also human health, work performance, and mutual relationships.

Scientists from the Universities of Missouri and Arizona studied data from 2,200 people. According to their calculations, the number of words people speak in a day has decreased by an average of 338 each year.

While in 2005 people used an average of about 17,000 words per day, by 2019 this figure had dropped to less than 12,000.

It is noted that this change is even more pronounced among young people. While Zoomers are speaking an average of 451 fewer words each year, for older generations this figure stands at 314.

Modern technologies and changing daily habits are said to be the causes of the decline in communication. For example, voice messages instead of phone calls, self-service cash registers instead of interacting with a cashier, and chats instead of face-to-face conversations are becoming increasingly widespread. Meanwhile, the use of headphones can further reduce people's need to communicate with those around them.

If this trend continues, the ability to start and sustain a simple conversation may become one of the most important skills in the future.