Be it in the library or in shops, I often hear old folks talking to themselves. Is it a habit they’ve likely always had or is it something to do with aging?
You know how the technicians at NASA keep finding new and creative ways of using the Voyager hardware well beyond it’s operation lifespan, presumed hardware limits and original intent? As you get older you realise you have a few bytes of very short-term storage in the air between your mouth and ears and you might as well use it.
Because I have a screw loose and no one else will talk to me. Now stop asking.
I’m in my 60s. I’ve only been living alone for about a year and a half, but I do find that talking to myself (or the cat) is preferable to going ages without saying a word. I don’t do it when I’m out in public, but I could easily see it becoming a habit after enough years of it.
I’m honestly more concerned about farting loudly becoming a habit, since I don’t have to worry about farting quietly 90% of the time.
Farting is the best.
Two reasons I can think of it being age related, though I think it’s pretty common at any age:
- Cognition and short term memory isn’t what it used to be, and saying things out loud helps
- With age you stop giving a fuck what people around you think (source: self)
I talk to myself all the time and I am only in my thirties. I think it’s partly because I work from home and therefore spend around 8-10 hours talking to myself or the dog at home, or sit in total silence. It’s hard to break that habit when I’m at the shop or other public space. Many elderly people also live quite lonely lives, so maybe that’s why?
I spend most of my time alone and have such a strong internal dialogue going on that it does the same basic thing without me making a noise. My mother in law verbalizes all of her thoughts, and always has even when surrounded by people. It reminds me of my internal dialogue!
I don’t think it has anything to do with being lonely, just how someone processes their thoughts.
I think the lonely part means I’m not used to having to suppress my internal voice going external anymore. Are there people that don’t have an internal dialogue going on at all times?
Are there people that don’t have an internal dialogue going on at all times?
Yes.
I’m like you, but my wife is like your MIL. It’s caused some issues for sure.
One big one is her thinking I’m being dismissive when she points out potential issues in a plan I tell her. I’m not dismissing them, I’ve just already recognized and addressed those issues in my internal dialog.
Exact same situation here. I figure it’s only a problem if the dogs start talking back.
I am one of the few people I enjoy talking too… who else would I talk to?
The older you get, the more you realize the people that make fun of useful behaviour are the ones that are wrong. If something makes your life better, but other people make fun of you for it, they are just jerks and you can ignore them.
Define “old people”.
I’ve doing that since my late 20s at least.
Anyone older than whoever is saying it. Also known online as “boomers”.
To make sure the normal people keep their distance.
best answer yet lmao
ADHD…spend most of my time silent. When I speak a thought aloud, it puts some emphasis on that thought. Helps me remember important things.
I’m 31 and I’ve been doing this (soliloquy) since my early childhood.
I talk to myself when I need expert advice. Just kidding, I talk to myself to slow my thought process way down.
Who else is gonna listen?
Sometimes saying things out loud helps people make sense of them, I don’t know all the science behind it but I’m sure there is a good reason.
Are they having a conversation or just thinking out loud?
The legend goes that Einstein thought out loud all the time. If it’s good enough for Albert, it’s good enough for me.
I’m autistic and that’s why I do it
