It Is Proven That Women Are More Cerwet Than Men, Study Reveals The Reason

Illustration of women talking (Photo: Freepik/Freepik)

JAKARTA - A new study revealed that women talk more than men, although this difference is not as big as it is often assumed in society.

The study also criticizes the old view that women are significantly more volatile than men, which has been a common assumption over the years. To prove this, researchers from the University of Arizona conducted scientific analysis to find out who actually spoke the most.

Between 2005 and 2018, researchers found the average number of words spoken daily fell from 16,000 to about 13,000 words. This decline appears to be related to our growing dependence on digital communication tools such as text messages and social media.

"We conducted a thorough analysis by looking at the year the data were collected and finding that, indeed, about 300 words are said to be missing each year," said Valeria Pfeifer, lead author of the study from the University of Arizona, in a statement, quoted by VOI from the Study Finds page on Tuesday, February 11.

This significant decline in verbal communication prompted researchers to examine more closely how many people actually speak, as well as whether common assumptions about gender differences in speech are scientifically proven.

For decades, the notion that women talk more than men has been accepted just like that emerged in everything from ancient sayings to modern self-development books.

Through an analysis of 631,030 records from 2,197 participants in four countries, this study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reveals who actually talks more.

"There is a strong cross-cultural notion that women talk much more than men. We want to see if this assumption is true when tested empirically," Colin Tidwell, lead author of clinical psychology studies and doctoral candidates, noted in a statement.

Figures show that women do talk a little more, an average of about 3,349 words per day compared to 11,950 words in men. The small difference of 1,073 words is relatively small when compared to the variation of individuals in daily speaking, which can range from less than 100 to more than 120,000 words per day.

What's even more interesting is how this gender difference varies throughout the life stage. Researchers divide participants into age groups, namely teenagers (10-17), young adults (18-24), early/middle adults (25-64), and advanced adults (65+).

Only one group shows significant differences. Adults between 25 and 64 years showed the largest gender gap, with women speaking about 21,845 words per day compared to 18,570 in men.

"The difference in gender in parenting and family care is one possibility that can explain this difference," explained Matthias.

"If biological factors such as hormones are the main cause, large gender differences should also exist among young adults. If the generational changes of society are the driving force, gender differences should be even greater in older participants. However, neither of them happened," said Mehl, senior author and professor of psychology at the University of Arizona.

This downward trend in total speaking time has broader implications for human health and well-being. Social interactions through conversations play an important role in mental and physical health, similar to exercise or sleep.

In response, researchers developed new tools such as 'SocialBit' devices, similar to Fitbits that would measure daily conversation times without recording their content.

"I'm interested in the idea that we know how much sleep is needed, we know how much we need to exercise, and people are wearing Fitbits all the time, but we don't know how much we should socialize," said Mehl.

"The proof is very strong that socializing is related to health, at least as important as physical activity and sleep. This is just another health behavior." he added.