With loneliness declared an epidemic in the United States, researchers are taking a closer look at how much we actually talk to one another. In a recent study published in , Valeria Pfeifer, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Matthias R. Mehl, Ph.D., professor at the University of Arizona, analyzed conversational trends and found that each year, between 2005 and 2019, we speak about 300 fewer words per day than the year before.  

The findings come from an analysis of audio data collected from more than 2,000 participants whose daily lives were sampled through short recordings of their natural environments. Together, the datasets represent 22 studies conducted across 14 years and include participants ranging from ages 10 to 94.

A loss of roughly 300 spoken words per day may initially not seem significant, but the decline adds up quickly. The study estimates the drop equals more than 120,000 fewer spoken words each year compared to the year before. Because spoken words usually occur in conversations with other people, the change may represent thousands of everyday interactions that are no longer taking place.

While yes, spoken words have shifted to written formats like texting, verbal conversations have characteristics that written communication does not always capture. Spoken language involves tone of voice, timing, emotional cues and immediate social feedback. Pfeifer suspects those elements play an important role in social relationships and well-being, but more research is needed to fully understand the differences.

Pfeifer has a background in linguistics and psychology, receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona and worked as a postdoctoral researcher there for three years. Her research primarily focuses on the psychology of language and language behavior in everyday life. She runs the Language and Cognition lab at º£½ÇÂÛ̳, where she studies how language shapes human emotion, cognition and social connection.

In discussing her recently published research, Pfeifer explained how her research explores the role language plays in daily social life and what the findings may mean for how people connect with one another.

What does speaking less mean for loneliness and health?

Speaking less means spending less time connecting with others. Research has consistently linked loneliness with negative outcomes for both mental and physical health. At the same time, everyday conversation is associated with greater well-being. If people are having fewer conversations, they may be losing both the immediate emotional benefits of social interaction and the long-term benefits of maintaining strong relationships.

If speaking 300 more words per day could help, what might that look like?

It does not require a long conversation. Small interactions can make a big difference. It could be chatting briefly with the barista making your coffee, stopping by a colleague’s desk to ask about their weekend or calling a family member to check in. These small moments of conversation help maintain social bonds and may help slow or reverse the loss of everyday spoken interaction.

Is technology responsible for the decline?

Our study cannot directly determine why spoken words are declining. However, the timeframe we examined, from 2005 to 2019, coincides with the rise of texting, email and social media. It is possible that some spoken conversations have shifted to digital communication. Whether typed conversations provide the same social benefits as spoken conversations is still an open question and one that future research needs to address.

Are younger people driving the decline?

Younger people did show somewhat steeper declines in spoken words. When we divided the sample into participants younger than 25 and those older than 25, we found that younger participants lost more spoken words per year. However, both age groups showed a clear decline in daily conversation. That suggests that age, or technology use alone, does not fully explain the trend.

Are there broader social implications of your findings?

Small changes in daily behavior accumulate over time. A gradual decline in spoken conversation might not be obvious from day to day, but over many years it could change how people connect with one another. Humans have relied on spoken language for more than 200,000 years, and we do not yet know whether a shift toward more digital communication comes with social costs. Our findings highlight the need to better understand how both spoken and written communication affect loneliness, health and well-being.