# New research suggests people are speaking about 28-percent fewer words each day than they did in 2005. Researchers analysed recordings from more than two-thousand people in 22 studies conducted between 2005 and 2019, finding that daily speech declined by about 338 words a year. The drop was even greater among people under 25. Psychologists say smartphones, texting, online ordering and less face-to-face interaction may be contributing, but the research cannot identify a single cause. The researchers say those missing conversations could have social and cognitive consequences.
People are talking less, but no one’s quite sure why