The Quiet Cost of ‘Me-Maxxing’

The Trend: As life becomes more convenient and increasingly digital, we’re also interacting with one another less — and talking less, too. One new study found that, since 2005, the average person has been speaking roughly 338 fewer words each day for every year that has passed — adding up to a nearly 30% decline overall. The drop was especially pronounced among people under 25.

What People Are Saying: Some point to our increasingly “me”-centered culture, in which convenience and efficiency win out over everything else. Think about choosing self-checkout over a staffed register: It’s faster and easier, but it also removes one of those small, everyday opportunities for human connection. The shift extends into the workplace, too. Remote jobs have become increasingly desirable, but research suggests that all that solo screen time could be contributing to greater loneliness.

What to Know: If you constantly find yourself choosing convenience over interaction, you may be unintentionally siloing yourself into a bubble. Ordinary conversation has value beyond exchanging information. A chat with a cashier, coworker, or neighbor may feel inconsequential, but those small interactions help keep us socially connected. In an increasingly optimized world, a little inefficiency might actually be good for us.