Women vs Men – Who Wins The Word Count Award?

 59 Comments on Women vs Men – Who Wins The Word Count Award? 0 907

A statement was made years ago that women use an average of 20000 words each day, whereas men only use 7000.Do females talk more than males

However, after reading the article What language barrier? by Deborah Cameron author of The Myth of Mars and Venus: Do Men and Women Really Speak Different Languages?,she points out the statement wasn’t based on fact.

Although the statement was not based on fact, some saw this as on opportunity to label women as “yakkers”, and men as the “strong, silent type”.

Today’s Lesson

Before I read the above article which states the word counts for women and men isn’t true, I assumed that was why it appears women comment more on blogs, chat more on Facebook, appear to tweet more on Twitter and at times are more wordy with their posts.

But, I realized it’s more than that.

It also has to do with which blogs I follow, what types of blogs I read, who I friend on Facebook and whom I follow on Twitter.

Since I tend to pal around with more women than men online, obviously I see women “talking” more.

But, that’s just my observation.

What say you?

Today’s Assignment

In your travels through blogosphere, social networking sites and in your comment section, who do you see “talking” more?

Men, or women?

Care to share?

~Barbara.

59 thoughts on “Women vs Men – Who Wins The Word Count Award?”

  1. Barbara – that is an interesting observation. Since in my professional work area I meet lots of people regularly, I notice that women are able to relate better compared to men. However, I would also counter argue that since both men and women respond from their internal stereo types, men would hesitate a little before they take the first step. However, once they open up, they talk as much, if not more.

    As for blogs, I find men and women both talking/chattering/yakking just as much. Must also admit that I did not particularly go around noticing. However, after reading your post, I checked and realised, that like you, I too, relate and connect with women’s blog more than blogs written by men.

    1. Hi Sharbori,

      I agree. Men and women generally “appear” to communicate differently, however, like you, I’ve also seen men who like to yak it up, too. 🙂

      1. Tony… LMAO!!! 😀 Giving you a high-five — literally.

        Barbara, I’m the strong, silent type, verbally. As for writing, well, that’s a different story 😉 I like words, I like creating imagery, mood and a flow with them. Having said that, there can be a definite impact with only one word. Swear words, for example, stand alone. I haven’t noticed men vs women and the word count, to be quite honest. I get caught up in the reading as opposed to the gender. Now I’m curious and will watch for this.

        3. Hi Davina,

          That’s interesting that you’re the strong silent type, but when it comes to writing, your creativity flows. It makes me wonder if that’s a trait all writers have whether they’re talkative in real life, or not.

  3. For general blogging and commenting, there seems to be more women. When it gets to the more specialized areas that I follow, climate change and RVing, there seems to be a bit more men than women blogging — though in RVing it’s only a slightly larger percentage and that may just be my perception. I do have more women commenting on my Exit78 blog, though.

    1. Hi Mike,

      I know what you’re saying. Some niches do attract more men. As for your Exit 78 blog, the material is pretty gender neutral, plus I know for myself, I enjoy your photos plus hearing about the trips you and Karen take.

  4. I don’t even know why this is an issue. I read blogs that I enjoy and I don’t really focus on gender when I read anything.

    That being said, I’m currently reading more men bloggers than I am women but that wasn’t the case when I first started blogging three years ago. Part of the reason is that I’ve been visiting a lot of hip-hop blogs and most of them seem to be operated by males.

    Some of my favourite blogs are run by women though. Case in point, this one.

    I don’t know who is talking / writing more. It seems to equal out though.

    1. Thank you Chase,

      In reality, it shouldn’t matter, but for some reason the topic of how men and women communicate continually gets dissected; maybe in the hope we can learn from each other, or….

    1. I see we have a comedian in our midst, Keith. 🙂

      I’ll have to go looking for your wife (aka “hillers54”) and ask for her response. 😆

  6. I don’t have the facts and figures to back this up, but I believe that women do talk more. And it has it’s basis in brain physiology. Women’s brains are wired in such a way that they are more inclined to be communicative.

    Females typically score higher in language skills testing. This is thought to be related to the physiological role of nurturer. Women supposedly place more importance on building and maintaining relationships than men do. Women tend to share on a much more deeper level. Their communications are more likely to be deeper and more intimate than those of men.

    Building complex relationships requires more communication, so more talking. So we probably do talk more. But there are exceptions to every rule and some men are also inclined to be wired more like their female counterparts. It’s a generality, but one that is borne out by psychological testing.

    But here is a strange statistic for you. There are more male bloggers than female (last time I checked about a year ago.)

    1. Hi Joella,

      Thank you for the great explanation of why it’s reported women may talk more than men, and like you, I agree there are exceptions.

      Re: The number of men vs women bloggers, I read that too (on Technorati). I think at the time that MAY have been true, but I believe the gap is quickly narrowing.

      1. I haven’t checked the stats recently, but I hope we’re closing the gap.

        The likely reason that there are more men bloggers than women is the potential of a blog to be used as a money making platform.

        I am pretty sure there are more social bloggers among the women. We are more likely to use a blog to build a strong social community. But this is all just speculation.

        Women also start blogs in the hope of monetizing them, but I think that this is the prime motivation for more male bloggers than us gals.

  8. Well, for the blogs I read, it’s pretty much all women, but I’m mostly in the mommy blogging genre. However, I will say, “in real life” I am quite a talker. I can’t seem to allow there to be dead air without trying to fill it. So, when I can’t get a word in when Diva starts talking, I realize just how much trouble I’m in. And how sorry I feel for my mom for having to put up with my jabbering for all those years!

    1. Hi Debbie,

      That’s funny. Like mother, like daughter.

      Yes. In the mommy blogging genre we don’t see a lot of males comments, however, I have seen a number of daddy blogs popping up. Those are fun to read since we get to hear about parenting from a father’s perspective.

  9. I dunno…

    I think it depends on the who’s who of our social networks. I know a lot of guys who think that a single grunt constitutes a meaningful conversation, but just as many guys who will talk my ear off if I give them the chance! The same is true for the women I know.

    Perhaps it’s little more than one’s own perception of things. 🙂

  10. I think it was the Men are from Mars guy that said men communicate to solve problems, and women communicate to relate and connect. I think his lesson for Men was to listen, relate, and connect more instead of just nail the problem.

    1. Hi J.D.,

      That’s right. And, if I remember correctly, he also wanted to teach women to understand that sometimes men need to go to their “cave” to think about a situation. And when that’s the case, the man is implying he needs to be left alone (although he may not voice that).

  11. I think in general, in my little community, the men attract both the men and women to their blogs, the women attract primarily women..When I have male guests, their followers seem to visit then stay..to me it’s not about gender but about content..although I purposely follow some of the “male” authored blogs to get a different perspective..

    1. Hi Joy,

      What an interesting observation. Like you, I also follow blogs written by males; not so much for a different perspective, but because I like the content and enjoy seeing the blogger as they journey on.

  12. Oh that’s easy it’s definitely women. But that works out perfect since I depend on my wife for everything!! If it was left up to me we would be living among animals and grunting at each other.

  13. Hmm… I gave it some thought, and I really don’t think there’s much difference. But I do belong to the school of thought that says women and men aren’t THAT different, so maybe I just don’t notice differences that others do notice.

    1. Hi Vered,

      I agree. In some aspects men and women are a lot alike. Just as we see some women who are talkers, if we look, we may be able to find just as many men who are, too.

  14. Hi Barbara,

    For what I’ve seen, more women than men blog and comment, but like you mention, it must be the places we visit and the people we meet; probably visiting blogs about cars I’ll find more guys than girls talking.

    At this point it is my belief (with no proof) that it must be about the same; men and women blogging, commenting and talking in physical life.

    Raul

    1. Hi Raul,

      That’s true. It does matter which blogs we frequent. I know I notice more guys commenting on techie type posts, but then if I go to a mommy blog, it’s usually all females.

  15. LOL Barb – We have just got a meal and the parents of one of Josh’s friends turned up at the same place. And they’re the type of people you really try to avoid because he just won’t shut up. He doesn’t ask questions – he is like a Duracell battery – on and on and on.

    She tried to ask me a question about how Josh is doing since the accident and he actually told her to change the subject because he found it boring.

    I like reading what men and women have to say – but at this point, I have to say that it is definitely not true that women talk more than men.

    1. LOL Catherine,

      Duracell battery? 😆

      Like you, I also like reading blogs written by both males and females. Both have the ability to expand our knowledge base.

  16. LOL! In my working life, it always greatly amuses me how gossipy my professional male counterparts are. You want word spread fast, tell a man! 😀

  17. I think men and women are not that different – even in the length of post writing….The news posts that I read are really about 50-50…

    I do not think many men read my blog posts unless they reciprocate because I have commented on their blogs.

    Medical blogs the Dr. are most often male and the folks answering your comments are most often female assistance.

    Architecture and Engineer blogs have almost no commenters at all…it is hard to make a connection with them.

    Interesting ideas to ponder

    2. You didn’t write that much, Patricia. See? Women don’t need a lot of words 😉

      That’s a good point about those blogs that are hard to make a connection with. They don’t invite conversation, from what I’ve seen.

  18. Women leave long comments on women related issues, men leave long comments on political issues and sometimes cricket or world cup, but Right wing supporters – men or women, I feel, leave the longest comments. And they can debate endlessly. This applies to the Indian blogosphere of course.

    1. Hi Indian Homemaker,

      Your observation for the Indian blogosphere doesn’t sound all that different than blogosphere as a whole.

      And yes, those who comment on political blogs like to debate.

  19. Hi Barbara .. I think it depends on the subject .. and as you say who we relate to & their blog subjects .. I suspect your blog if it was started by a man would have more readers, have become more technical, and wouldn’t be so caring ..

    I’ll be back to read more comments anon .. have a good week .. Hilary

    1. Hi Hilary,

      Thank you for your sweet words.

      You’re right. If this blog were written by a male, it probably wouldn’t be the same. And since I’m not a techie, you won’t find much of that here. 🙂

      A good week to you, too.

  21. Thankyou above commenters for proving women talk too much. I will show this to my wife. I think it all depends on what the site is about though.

  24. LOL,
    My wife thinks it is true that women talk more than men. If it’s true, I wonder if it is age dependent. There is a stereotype of young girls doing the texting and boys for handheld games-yet a boy was at least at one time considered the record holder for sending text messages.
    Personally, I think it is more personality dependent. I also think your going to talk more with people that you have something in common. And it is hard to comment on a blog where you have no connection to the subject. If you have a similar interest, a decent comment is easy.

    1. Hi James,

      Good points. Age may have something to do with communication styles, as would our personalities (i.e. introverts vs extroverts).

      That’s true about commenting on blog posts. Even if a post is well written and has massive value, if it’s not something we’re interested in, we’ll move on.

  25. Barbara,

    I think it depends on the subject and the person’s interest in it. I’ve known both men and women who can go to town when talking about something they love…whatever it is:~)

    1. Hi Sara,

      That’s true. When we’re passionate about something, we’re much more likely to be vocal. And I don’t know about you, but when I see that happen, I also see the person’s eye light up like a Christmas tree. It’s pretty neat.

  26. Barb,
    I think it all depends on the subject matter and the physical surroundings. As far as blogs, the longest blog posts I’ve seen are by a man. In you case the longest posts are probably by a woman. In face to face conversation, women seem to talk more, but in the right surroundings I’ve seen men go the that go on for hours.

  27. Hi Bruce,

    That’s true. There are many variables to who talks more.

    I was trying to think of the longest posts I’ve seen and one was written by a man, and one by a woman.

  28. I know for a fact that women talk more on the phone than men. A woman will happily talk for hours on the phone to her best mate whom she is going to see later that day. A man would phone his best mate up and say “pub? 8? see you there” Job done..!

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