Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. Proverbs 12:25
You may not have noticed it, but our world is becoming a more silent place.
Everyday conversations once connected us at dinner tables, in waiting rooms, and while standing in line. But we’re not talking to each other the way we used to. Between texting, online ordering, and constantly wearing earbuds, we’re interacting less with loved ones and strangers alike.
Researchers say that in 2005, we spoke over 16,000 words every day. By 2019, that number had fallen to under 12,000. That’s a 28% decrease.[1] And it’s only gotten worse since the pandemic.
The effects go deeper than silence. Human beings are shaped by conversation and connection. When mothers are absorbed in their phones, they speak 16% fewer words to their infants, stunting their children’s developing vocabularies. And those patterns continue into adulthood: people under 25 are having fewer face-to-face conversations than any generation before them.[2]
When you talk with a person, you’re valuing them as a fellow human being. Every person, young or old, needs to hear encouragement spoken directly to them. The Bible reminds us, “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up” (Proverbs 12:25). “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29b). And: “Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak” (1 Thessalonians 5:14 excerpted).
We were never meant to stop truly seeing each other—to stop talking with one another. To stop encouraging one another with our words. Think about it: Could you have one more meaningful conversation with someone each day?
[1] Julie Jargon, “We’re All Talking to Each Other Less Than We Did a Decade Ago,” Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2026, https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/speaking-study-words-per-day-decline-6f549d5a.
[2] Jargon, “We’re All Talking to Each Other Less.”
