From BZ/dpa
Well, do you also complain about your slow computer? Or do you praise your houseplant because its new leaf has become extraordinarily beautiful? You are not alone, as a survey shows.
Just because nobody else is home doesn’t mean there’s silence.
Talking to objects, pets, or plants is quite common. This is shown by a YouGov survey commissioned by the Flower Council.
Not an object, but the most popular non-human conversational partner: the pet.
In the survey, 75 percent of pet owners stated that they talked to their pets.
No big surprise, after all, the cat or the budgie has a chance of reacting.
Chatting to make the plant grow better?
And the houseplant is also involved in conversations in quite a few households – here, too, a reaction is less likely.
Around half of those who own houseplants talk to them (51 percent). For 31 percent, this happens several times a month.
There is also hope that the plant will grow better. Namely, they cherish 57 percent of people who talk to plants. For 35 percent but of them, chatting with the plant is also a way to feel less lonely at home.
By the way: Many people also talk with technical devices. 43 percent of all respondents stated that they talk with their smartphones and computers, 27 percent with kitchen appliances such as the stove.
Praise and criticism – sometimes with a direct address
And what is the content of all the conversations with objects and greenery? The survey shows that praise and criticism are almost balanced. 32 percent of respondents talk to objects because they are satisfied with their performance. 35 percent but also express anger in such conversations.
Incidentally, it is not uncommon for cactus or toaster to be addressed personally: 27 percent of those surveyed stated that they gave the objects names.