Maybe it's a personal thing, but I'm not a fan of the whole, "introverts are oppressed, extroverts are shallow and evil" line of thinking. e.g., from the article:
"This is not something I confess easily. I have long been shamed out of owning my introversion by the extroverts who dominate American culture. Extroversion has long been considered healthier than introversion, and introverts often try to push against our natural tendencies in order to fit in, to seem normal so people will stop scolding us. Extroverts are unintentional bullies, demanding that everyone join their party or be considered queer, sad or stunted."
The 'we're oppressed' thing just comes off as so bitter to me. Maybe I feel this way because I'm a lot more sociable than I used to be and have seen this issue from both sides.
I've noticed introverts who have become more outgoing and those who haven't have very different takes on the issue. Those who are still introverted tend to be a little more bitter and into the victim thing, and say introversion is a core personality trait.
Those who worked on becoming more outgoing will say their desire to socialize is more mutable than they once thought it was, and that a lot of their past so-called introversion was just shyness and not liking being around people because they weren't good at or comfortable with it. They still seek out and enjoy their alone time, but on the whole they say they're glad they got better with people.
* It's possible the ones who changed weren't hardcore or 'real' enough introverts.
* You could also start nitpicking the way I used the term, and start debating what 'introvert' really means, something most discussions on this topic devolve into before long I've found.
My standard definition of introversion is you are primarily an introvert if you find certain social situations like parties draining. Extroverts get energized by social situations like parties.
When it comes to travel, I find that I am more extroverted primarily because traveling alone sucks.
As the old koan goes, "whereever you go, there you are". You may not outrun your shadow, however, travel can help figure out who you are.
True, but not necessarily the case here. I'm an introvert who is getting significantly better at acting outgoing when necessary, but being sociable seems to keep a similar level of effort.
Heh. It isn't the case here, but you have to "act outgoing"? If you had practice, you don't have to act.
Yes, I'm an introvert, too, and I understand exactly what you're talking about. The diff is that how much I'm "drained" depends on the group of people. I have quite a few friends with whom I'm close enough to just be myself, to not "act". They don't drain me at all. I just eventually run out of things to talk about, unlike the extroverts who find more to talk about.
A group of co-workers? That is tiring, because it takes a lot of effort to act that nice.
The article "Caring for Your Introvert," from the March 2003 Atlantic is a good, and more nuanced, discussion of introversion. There are also links to two followup articles.
"This is not something I confess easily. I have long been shamed out of owning my introversion by the extroverts who dominate American culture. Extroversion has long been considered healthier than introversion, and introverts often try to push against our natural tendencies in order to fit in, to seem normal so people will stop scolding us. Extroverts are unintentional bullies, demanding that everyone join their party or be considered queer, sad or stunted."
The 'we're oppressed' thing just comes off as so bitter to me. Maybe I feel this way because I'm a lot more sociable than I used to be and have seen this issue from both sides.
I've noticed introverts who have become more outgoing and those who haven't have very different takes on the issue. Those who are still introverted tend to be a little more bitter and into the victim thing, and say introversion is a core personality trait.
Those who worked on becoming more outgoing will say their desire to socialize is more mutable than they once thought it was, and that a lot of their past so-called introversion was just shyness and not liking being around people because they weren't good at or comfortable with it. They still seek out and enjoy their alone time, but on the whole they say they're glad they got better with people.
* It's possible the ones who changed weren't hardcore or 'real' enough introverts.
* You could also start nitpicking the way I used the term, and start debating what 'introvert' really means, something most discussions on this topic devolve into before long I've found.