Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

I find myself with so much less to say. At parties, social gatherings, school events - I'm more forthright about my feelings, but I don't talk as much. Chit-chat or small talk isn't as appealing as it was when I was younger.

Things I think - are they really worth mentioning? Are they worth the back & forth, or possible judgement for where I stand on subjects? Lately...no.

My work has taken me to a place where I don't have to prove myself or push to get a point across, so I have less to say naturally on the daily.

Maybe I'm just getting better at picking my battles. Or is this just part of aging...

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Not really. I feel like I can say more now.

Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Yes I do
I also feel like lately I have nothing to say and have nothing in common with my group of friends anymore....my DH thank goodness is my best friend and I have tons to talk about with him but I could sit alone all day and night with a book or the tv/movie or a coloring book for days on end.
maybe something is wrong with me
I dont know if I answered your question in the way you were looking for actually lol

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

I feel like it's the opposite for me. I was always very social and outgoing, but getting older I speak my mind more. I'm more vocal about how I feel or what I want to do. Especially when it comes to my kids. I try and enjoy things more and do more for myself, DH and the kids. Everyone is different though.


I don't need to prove myself to anyone. I like to get more involved too.

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

I have no qualms about expressing my opinion or speaking up about something. I'm not shy.

I can't do small talk or idle chit-chat though. In the times where I have to, I feel like it's so forced.

Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

I feel the same way. When I am at a social event, I really find myself with nothing to say. I hate small talk too. When my kids were little I would find myself talking about them, but now that they're teenagers I'm like "meh, nobody wants to hear about that". So I just listen, but people tend to think I am rude when really I'm just quiet.

At home I find the opposite. I say what's on my mind more and I'm always ranting and raving because I'm sick of taking my kids sh!t.

Message edited 10/19/2017 8:09:18 AM.

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

I think I may have gotten less chit chatty, like I worry less about feeling the need to fill the air with words- but I feel like what I say has more value.
I used to always chime in with my opinion as I have gotten older I realize- most people don't really want an opinion- they are talking to vent or just to say it to say it - I don't give my opinion unless someone asks for it.

Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Yes. I've always been a pretty quiet person, and I feel like as I get older I don't really give a fukk. Like, when I was younger I'd try to be more talkative, engaging, etc. Now, I really don't care. That might sound awful, but it's true.

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Yes cause i hate small talk

I prefer small groups and meaningful conversations

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Not sure about quieter, I feel like I am more anti social as I have gotten older.
Like it's getting REALLY bad.
Like I want to go live in a cave somewhere away from all humans.

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Yeah probably- I just don't care as much, about the little stuff, the bullsh!t. I don't care enough to comment. I'm too tired.

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

I know when to shutup more, I don't engage in useless back and forth, don't feel the need to voice my opinion as loudly, I guess I was/am sort of a "know it all" but as I have gotten older I dont feel the need to convince others lol

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Love the responses.

It's good to hear I'm not the only one.

People do suck, and I find that the more I get to know people, the more suckage comes my way, so sometimes I'm like, nah - i'm good.

I find that most people don't want to hear my opinion, they just want me to listen. I had to quiet down long enough to realize that, unless they're asking for it, I tend to keep my opinions to myself these days. In the privacy of my own home is a completely different story. I have little kids, so there is a lot of talking - constantly.

Not shy, just - ok with not saying anything. Ok with just sitting there. I have sensed that it's making people uncomfortable, especially if they don't know me. And that's ok. I want to continue to make friends, just differently.

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

I'm naturally introverted, but have no qualms about voicing my opinion / displeasure, etc.
But idle chit chat annoys me, I have no interest in it.
I don't have children, so I cannot have a conversation about that. That's why I've distanced myself from my sister and our childhood friends. That's all they talk about when we are together. I'm the only non-mom and also the only one still working.
Politics are taboo, I honestly don't give a shit anymore because I don't know what to believe. I refuse to participate in any type of political conversation, except with DH.

One of my lunchmates is a very vocal, very angry person who complains all the time, about work, about his bonus (!) about his girlfriend. He has a reputation at work as a whiner, a lot of people laugh at him behind his back.
Can't deal with his shit anymore, don't care either, so I eat at my desk. Feel bad for my other lunchmate, but she can be just as bad as he is, just a notch lower. I need my lunch break to recharge.

I would rather read, listen to music, be inside my own head. I like my own company. I'm getting good at tuning people out while appearing to pay attention.

DH, who likes to talk a lot and not let me get a word in edgewise, every once in a while gets told to be quiet.

This makes me sound so callous. Chalk it up to being on the other side of 50.

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

This thread has me thinking of this woman from my neighborhood who had to stop by once to drop something off. She stood in my hallway for over a half an hour, chewing my and my DH's ears off about nonsense. And it was loud, overbearing obnoxious to boot. It was late on a Sunday evening and I wanted to go shower, relax, get my stuff ready for work, make lunch for the next day, etc
I could not WAIT for her to leave. I was starting to fume inside.

That is the type of person I cannot stand. The one who just yaks on and on and you can't get a word in edgewise and you are stuck standing there prisoner, listening to them.
She friended me on FB so I see her posting about outings with her friends and I am like -there are people out there who WILLINGLY deal with this woman's nonsense and non stop yakking? Really?

Not my type of person at all.
And the older I get, I am finding that less and less people are "my type of people"
LOL

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

No, I find I am less shy and more confident so I speak more freely. I do, however, have little tolerance for people who have nothing interesting to say and am less willing to waste my free time hanging with boring people. I have kids but I have ZERO interest in discussing things like the gossip at the elementary school. I've honed my group of close friends but at the same time enjoy meeting new interesting people if that makes any sense.

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

i used to be pushed around a lot.
as i've gotten older, and with professional help, i've gotten better and feeling that my thoughts and ideas are valid. i no longer have to be quiet because of what others might think or feel.

but... as many have said, i'm less social and i don't like small talk as much.

just yesterday i was in a situation with someone i know well and in a tit-for-tat that we do ALL.THE.TIME. in a split second i realized that i didn't have to do this dance any more. i just told her to STOP. i didn't care what she had to say because it was the same thing we do all the time and she already knew the answer was no. it was not up for debate. i walked away.

it was so empowering to not have to do the back and forth for an outcome we already knew. i was not going to waste more time on it.

i'm loving this getting older thing.

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

Re: Have you become quieter as you have gotten older?

I’ve become quiet for sure. I was very loud and out going when I was younger. I listen and think before I talk a lot more now. I realized about 10 years ago that I had become much more quiet and I had a hard time with it. I startled to feel like I was losing myself but i have gotten better with now. I think sometimes people think I’m being rude but I’d rather just wait to say something of importance than small talk.