Ignored again? What we in NJ can teach America about the art of listening

Have you been there? You’re telling your significant other about a horrible thing that happened at work and you think they’re listening until they give you a “That’s great, babe!”

Or you’re out with a friend and every time you bring something up they react instead to a text that just came in on their phone.

Listening can be somewhat of a skill, and for those who need to cut to the chase there’s The Listening App, which uses AI to get you to the crux of academic papers. They did a study to determine which states are better listeners and which are worse.

If you want to be truly heard, don’t look for it in Pennsylvania. They came in as the absolute worst listeners in America. Overall, 69% of Pennsylvania’s population said people have criticized them for not paying attention when they’re talking.

In second place was Texas followed by Oklahoma. That’s the bad news. The good news?

New Jersey ranks in the Top 10 for good listeners. We landed at 9th place. Ayyy, we’re not jerks after all. Good for us!

Are we perfect? No.

Overall 92% of Americans think we’ve all gotten worse at listening over the years; 64% say they’re trying to improve their listening skills.

Categories of people we tend to tune out the most include parents, coworkers, and friends. Luckily our significant others and our kids get much more of our attention.

If number nine best listening isn’t good enough for you you maybe consider moving to Florida. They’re the number one best listeners in the United States according to this study.

Then again, they probably just have more urgent things to say, such as, “Hey, that alligator is about to eat you!”

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.
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