My mom calls me today early morning and says, “it’s been 3 days since we spoke, why don’t you call me more often?” I had no answer to that. What can I say when there is nothing-new happening, life is stuck in a daily monotonous syndrome with no updates and world news has pretty much turned into a daily number counter?

I just replied, “Maa, I have been busy with work so didn’t get time”. Then the conversation moves on to what’s for lunch, what’s for dinner and over. This is it, the only new thing that happens each day is the change in menu.

But it seems that this is just me, people around me have too much to talk about. Endless gossip over phone, non-stop flow of unsolicited advice and too much of jibber jabber is happening all over. Lockdown, isolation and too much of free time has made people talk all sorts of nonsense and that too repetitively to feel good about themselves.

Due to lockdown, the normal routine of going out, working in office and arranging get-togethers with family and friends is replaced by video chatting. It might look easy and nice to stay connected from the comfort of your home without the pressure of getting dressed and looking pretty, it comes with a major feature – NO TIME LIMIT. You no longer have to get up and go home because its getting late. You now have all the time in the world and you can chat about all the things in the world.

All of it sounds nice, doesn’t it – to be able to talk to your friends and family from anywhere for as much time as you want, but not for me. I cannot talk a lot and I prefer my silence and quite and listen most of the times. But unlike me, there are many people who just talk excessively, especially the chatterboxes who just don’t know when to stop and makes you want to get up and scream, “will you just shut the f*$ck up!”

This 2020 pandemic and lockdown has made almost all of us extremely stressed and anxious. This anxiety has made many people indulge into compulsive behaviour, be it excessive cooking, workout or talking. People who chatter compulsively are often aware of their constant talking but they cannot stop, they feel compelled to do it. They do it because their anxiety levels are so high that they need something to get their mind off the anxiety and thus the non-stop yammering.

Peace and tranquillity are very important for me, even when I’m not working, I prefer to be sitting alone with a book or just stare out of the window. I cannot talk non-stop about things that mean nothing to me or those that don’t affect my life directly / indirectly. In fact if I have people around me who are constantly talking, it makes me irritable.

I don’t mean to belittle the babblers, I cannot change them or make them to do something more productive if they themselves are not motivated to do so. But perhaps if someone is reading my article and is a compulsive talker then he / she can drop the mask of “knowing it all” and for a change focus on a new hobby that is not painful for their captive listeners’.