University of Arizona study shows declining daily spoken word counts

A study from the University of Arizona suggests that daily verbal communication is declining. Published in ‘Perspectives on Psychological Science’, the research indicates that people are speaking approximately 338 fewer words per day each year.

Analyzing environmental recordings from roughly 2,200 individuals aged 10 to 94 across the United States, Mexico, Australia, and several European countries, researchers found that the average daily word count dropped from about 16,000 in 2005 to 12,792 in 2019. This reduction was slightly more pronounced among individuals under the age of 25.

While the researchers noted that this was an unexpected finding discovered while replicating a different study, they suggest the trend may be linked to the increased use of digital technologies, such as instant messaging, email, social media, and artificial intelligence.