The Null Device

Posts matching tags 'introversion'

2003/2/25

Via Graham, Caring For Your Introvert.

With the possible exception of Ronald Reagan, whose fabled aloofness and privateness were probably signs of a deep introverted streak (many actors, I've read, are introverts, and many introverts, when socializing, feel like actors), introverts are not considered "naturals" in politics.

Isn't that the truth. If you're a natural introvert, being social can be like acting as it requires running an extra layer of emulation, and extra effort; which is why us introverts get tired by having to do so for long periods of time, or why we can be grumpy or unsociable when tired.

In our extrovertist society, being outgoing is considered normal and therefore desirable, a mark of happiness, confidence, leadership. Extroverts are seen as bighearted, vibrant, warm, empathic. "People person" is a compliment. Introverts are described with words like "guarded," "loner," "reserved," "taciturn," "self-contained," "private"--narrow, ungenerous words, words that suggest emotional parsimony and smallness of personality.
Sometimes, as we gasp for air amid the fog of their 98-percent-content-free talk, we wonder if extroverts even bother to listen to themselves. Still, we endure stoically, because the etiquette books--written, no doubt, by extroverts--regard declining to banter as rude and gaps in conversation as awkward. We can only dream that someday, when our condition is more widely understood, when perhaps an Introverts' Rights movement has blossomed and borne fruit, it will not be impolite to say "I'm an introvert. You are a wonderful person and I like you. But now please shush."

What's more likely is that introversion will be medicalised (possibly classified as a form of Asperger's Syndrome; either that or a social anxiety disorder) and there will be drugs released to "cure" it. If your kid doesn't like playing sports with other kids and prefers to read books, or (less anachronistically) uses their computer for designing imaginary cities/languages/worlds rather than instant-messaging their friends, you will be able (and expected) to give them drugs that make them into a fully-functioning, ruggedly outgoing extrovert. Sure, they'll lose a lot of their creativity and capacity for abstract thought, but they probably weren't going to be the next Albert Einstein anyway, and isn't it much better that they play well with other kids?

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