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"People are getting quieter... "

Just watched this very interesting video: “People are getting quieter and scientists are concerned” | DW News. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeJ61w7be2A 

I noticed this during Covid, when we had all resigned ourselves to our homes (and fate!), that most of us were talking less amongst ourselves and more with technology. But the research discussed in the video is fascinating.

Apparently, we are speaking 338 fewer words per person per day, every year, amounting to roughly 28% fewer spoken words in 2019 than in 2005.

Yes, we text and video-call more. But much of that communication is limited to people we already know.

What about us as a society?

Technology has made many everyday interactions more efficient. We can order food, groceries, and complete countless transactions without interacting with another person.

Efficient? Absolutely.
But is efficiency the only thing that matters?

I am naturally quiet and reserved. I prefer to listen more than talk. Yet this research made me wonder: what happens when everyday conversations slowly disappear?

Not just deep conversations with friends and family, but the small ones, a chat with a neighbor, a colleague, a shopkeeper, even a stranger.

I am not blaming technology, nuclear families, or changing lifestyles. Just raising a question:

Would it really matter if more of our verbal interactions were replaced by texts, apps or silence?

Perhaps we’ll become more efficient.

But could we also become less practiced at connecting with people?

Are we becoming less human in our pursuit of efficiency?

What do you think?

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