Why read this: This article gives B1 readers a clear, real-world finding from social research: people now speak far fewer words each day than 20 years ago. The topic is close to learners' daily lives (texting, online shopping, time alone), so the numbers and ideas feel real. It also lets students meet useful everyday phrases like small talk, body language and sense of belonging in plain context.
What to notice: Notice that the article gives three reasons for the drop in spoken words: more technology, more time alone, and less small talk. Each reason has a simple example next to it (texting, remote work, contactless payment). Notice how short quotes from the two researchers, Mehl and Sandstrom, support each idea. Pay attention to phrases like "adds up to" and "the more you do it, the better you get at it" — these are common in spoken English.
Skills practised: Reading for main idea and supporting details: students should be able to name the three causes and one example for each. Working with simple numbers in a text (16,600, 12,000, 28%, 2,000 people, 14 years). Using glosses to unlock everyday compound nouns (small talk, body language, non-verbal cues, social isolation, sense of belonging). Forming short opinions in answer to "Explain why…" and "Compare…" questions, with simple textual evidence.
We Are Talking Less Each Day
A new study finds that the average person speaks far fewer words a day than people did 20 years ago.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
People are talking less than they used to. A new study shows that the average person says far fewer words each day than 20 years ago.
Two researchers in the United States, Matthias Mehl and Valeria Pfeifer, looked at audio recordings from more than 2,000 people. Most of the people were Americans. The researchers found that in 2005, the average person said about 16,600 words a day. By 2019, that number had fallen to below 12,000 words. That is a drop of 28% in 14 years. Across the full , this adds up to millions of fewer words spoken.
“At first I said, ‘That can’t be right,’” Mehl recalls. He and his team checked the numbers again. The fall was real, and it had happened a little more each year.
Mehl thinks that modern technology is one big reason. His study looked at people aged 10 to 94. Spoken words dropped in every age group, but the drop was sharpest among people under 25. Young people use texts and messaging apps more than older adults. When you send a message, you do not need to speak.
is another likely cause. Since the early 2000s, surveys show that Americans spend more time alone and less time with other people. Remote work has grown, and team work in offices has fallen. If people spend less time together, they say less.
A third cause is the loss of in public places. Contactless payments and digital ordering systems mean we do not need to speak to a checkout person or a waiter. “We can shop for groceries now without talking with a checkout person,” Mehl says. “All these ways in which we have made our daily lives more efficient may have also made our social lives more basic.”
Mehl says this is a problem. When we send a text instead of speaking, we lose the tone of someone’s voice, their , and other . Text is often unclear. We use emojis to fix that, but emojis cannot replace a real face or a real voice. These signals help us feel close to each other.
Gillian Sandstrom, a psychology professor at the University of Sussex in the U.K., studies small talk. She says these short chats with strangers do more for us than we think. “When we have these little interactions, it puts us in a good mood and helps us feel more connected,” she says.
Sandstrom calls herself shy, and she used to avoid small talk. But her work has changed her. “The more you do it, the better you get at it,” she says. Small chats with strangers, she explains, build our . “All these little conversations add up to us feeling like people are generally good, I can talk to anybody, and I have a place in this world.”
People are talking less than they used to. A new study shows that the average person says far fewer words each day than 20 years ago.
Two researchers in the United States, Matthias Mehl and Valeria Pfeifer, looked at audio recordings from more than 2,000 people. Most of the people were Americans. The researchers found that in 2005, the average person said about 16,600 words a day. By 2019, that number had fallen to below 12,000 words. That is a drop of 28% in 14 years. Across the full , this adds up to millions of fewer words spoken.
“At first I said, ‘That can’t be right,’” Mehl recalls. He and his team checked the numbers again. The fall was real, and it had happened a little more each year.
Mehl thinks that modern technology is one big reason. His study looked at people aged 10 to 94. Spoken words dropped in every age group, but the drop was sharpest among people under 25. Young people use texts and messaging apps more than older adults. When you send a message, you do not need to speak.
is another likely cause. Since the early 2000s, surveys show that Americans spend more time alone and less time with other people. Remote work has grown, and team work in offices has fallen. If people spend less time together, they say less.
A third cause is the loss of in public places. Contactless payments and digital ordering systems mean we do not need to speak to a checkout person or a waiter. “We can shop for groceries now without talking with a checkout person,” Mehl says. “All these ways in which we have made our daily lives more efficient may have also made our social lives more basic.”
Mehl says this is a problem. When we send a text instead of speaking, we lose the tone of someone’s voice, their , and other . Text is often unclear. We use emojis to fix that, but emojis cannot replace a real face or a real voice. These signals help us feel close to each other.
Gillian Sandstrom, a psychology professor at the University of Sussex in the U.K., studies small talk. She says these short chats with strangers do more for us than we think. “When we have these little interactions, it puts us in a good mood and helps us feel more connected,” she says.
Sandstrom calls herself shy, and she used to avoid small talk. But her work has changed her. “The more you do it, the better you get at it,” she says. Small chats with strangers, she explains, build our . “All these little conversations add up to us feeling like people are generally good, I can talk to anybody, and I have a place in this world.”
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
By how much did the number of words said per day fall between 2005 and 2019?
- 02
Why was the drop in spoken words sharpest among people under 25?
- 03
Why does Sandstrom think small talk with strangers matters?
- 04
Explain why technology might be one reason people speak fewer words each day. Use examples from the article.
Suggested length: ~70 words
- 05
Compare what we share when we speak with someone face to face and what we share when we send a text. Why does the article say this matters?
Suggested length: ~70 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
By how much did the number of words said per day fall between 2005 and 2019?
- 02
Why was the drop in spoken words sharpest among people under 25?
- 03
Why does Sandstrom think small talk with strangers matters?
- 04
Explain why technology might be one reason people speak fewer words each day. Use examples from the article.
Suggested length: ~70 words
- 05
Compare what we share when we speak with someone face to face and what we share when we send a text. Why does the article say this matters?
Suggested length: ~70 words