"I just assumed everyone had it, you know that little narrator in your head who talks you through your decisions, who questions your actions, who reflects on your failures and asks, “Why did I do that?” But here’s the data: over 75% of people report little to no inner dialogue at all. Nothing. No voice. No back-and-forth. No internal monologue steering the ship. Like wtf...
They think in pictures, emotions, or gut instincts. They "just know" things without verbalizing them internally. That sounds harmless per se, until you realize what’s missing. Self-awareness. Moral calibration. Inner correction. Long-term introspection. All of it hinges on the ability to hold a conversation with yourself...you know...to weigh options, rehearse scenarios, argue with your own thoughts. Take that away, and what’s left is not a philosopher… it’s a refined animal in a human body. Sorry 75%.
I honestly don't think we're studying this seriously enough. Psychologists dismiss it as “neurodiversity,” as if it’s just a quirk. But what if it’s more than that? What if we’re looking at a fundamental divide in human consciousness... almost like a split between narrative beings and reactive shells? Sorry again.
Between those who live with an inner world… and those who just follow the script handed to them by instinct and media?... Sound familiar?
Think about what this explains. Why people are so easy to manipulate. Why mass movements work. Why so few stop to question anything. Because if there’s no voice inside, there’s nothing to say “Hold on. Is this right?” There’s no inner witness. No friction. Just impressions, feelings, and the next dopamine hit. I know this will be controversial...but these are the studies conclusions.
I'm assuming the silence in others is just quiet, not absence. But what if most of the world is sleepwalking, not because they’re unwilling… but because they’re literally unequipped to narrate their own story? If that's true, everything we know about agency, ethics, and consciousness needs to be rewritten."
https://x.com/JasonWilde108/status/1939466323479634036
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053810008000342?via%3Dihub
I talk to my inner voice all the time, we get along great. Probably because I have more common sense than anyone I know.
That made me laugh because I can relate. I too am perfectly comfortable having internal conversations and enjoy that quiet time with myself. I find that people who are uncomfortable in their own skin constantly have to be around others to be their soundboard and validation. They do not have that internal dialogue and therefore need it from others - the blind leading the blind. It sure explains a lot - especially social media. It answers the question of why some people are so easily manipulated that it leaves us scratching our heads.
At my best I ask before I speak or take an action.
I am not, however, always at my best. Sometimes as I get an answer, I STILL act like an ass. Does that ever work out? No, not at all. Sigh.