awkward how reassuring i find this
well ya duh society shames speech patterns associated with young women
"Speech fillers" are just a human’s way of saying "wait a sec I’m thinking". It means we think more before we speak, always trying to find the right way to say it. Every language has them. And people shouldn’t be annoyed by it, ever.
Like and um are essentially the same thing. I hate how they are shamed. Maybe we say them because we actually think about how to say things clearly rather than confuse without thinking.