- People talk less now in daily life.
- Face-to-face talk happens much less than before.
- New machines and mobile apps change daily routines.
- A long study found fewer spoken words each day.
- People lose many words every single year.
- Scientists did not expect this surprising result.
- Two researchers looked at speech totals over time.
- This change could affect work and personal relationships.
- It is unclear what will happen in future.
- More research is needed to understand the causes.
Difficult words
- face-to-face — with people together in the same place
- mobile app — a small computer program on a phonemobile apps
- routine — regular actions done every dayroutines
- researcher — a person who studies a topic carefullyresearchers
- relationship — the way people connect or know each otherrelationships
- surprising — not expected and makes people feel surprise
- speak — to use words to tell or share informationspoken
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you talk face to face with friends today?
- Do you use mobile apps to talk?
- Do you think talking is important for relationships?
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