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?
Why? Because I get good answers.
Because I have a screw loose and no one else will talk to me. Now stop asking.
you will get there. they don’t give a fuck anymore :) also it’s more thinking out loud
For me, it’s because I was born with a defective give-a-shitter and that thing died completely about a decade ago.
That’s not even a joke.
But you run into it a lot. It isn’t just older folks, but it amounts to people being prone to it gradually losing their filter for it. When you’re younger, you tend to care more about perceptions. At some point, that starts going away because you realize it isn’t worth the energy it takes, and you have less energy anyway.
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.
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)
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.
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?
Exact same situation here. I figure it’s only a problem if the dogs start talking back.
To make sure the normal people keep their distance.
Most of mine are “What the fuck am I supposed to be buying again?” or “What did I come here for?” and just variations of those situations
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.
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.
Younger people are so full of sh1t, I prefer to talk to the most sensible individual present.
