All I know is I talk less than everyone I talk to but text more than anyone I text with. I’d be interested in studies that 1. I don’t have to pay to read, and 2. Take into account other forms of communication.
The researchers don’t know for sure why women are the more talkative gender during the near-40-year stretch between 25 and 64, but they say one possibility is that those tend to be the child rearing years, and women, who often assume the role of primary caregiver,
They really seem to be reaching on this one. I don’t think anyone, if asked to define child rearing years, would stretch those years out until 64. Also, 40 years is a significant percentage of average lifespans.
The whole article seems to be trying really hard to not come to the conclusion that most people would naively assume to be correct.
“those tend to be” probably should’ve been “those tend to include”
That seems like a reasonable reading and yet even so, I think the article pushes it. I was the primary care giver for my sons and I can’t imagine that even the “chattiest years” would have amounted to more than 5 or 6 years. Kids very quickly get involved in school, friends, etc., to the point that conversations subside. And by the time kids are older, it is difficult sometimes to get as much conversation from them as you’d like.
I wonder if it could’ve been less “conversations” and more “motherly checking in”. Or, as some boomer husbands might call it, “nagging”
Oh, I don’t think I did any more nagging than most fathers. You can tell when the kids start being more in to other things than hanging out with their parents, but you still miss it a little.