Abnormally Quiet
The other day there was a debate on the radio about introverts living in a very extrovert world, and while someone was arguing that introverts cannot succeed due to the difficult time they have socializing , the other debater disagreed and believed that introversion is normal and nothing to be worried about. As you may have seen from your own experiences every single person is different, with complex personalities. What does stand out right away is that certain people are more outgoing than others, while others are more reserved and enjoy being to themselves or quieter. This society is one that embraces and favors extraverts. I decided to research introversion and I was shocked by the volumes of pages saying “how to care for an introvert,” as if it was some sickness, or something that needed caring. Its not surprising though because anything deemed slightly abnormal is considered something that needs to be fixed.
Some of the things these how to care for introverts pages included were:
- Respect their need for privacy
- Never Embarrass them in public
- Let them observe first in new situations
- Give them time to think/ Don’t demand instant answers from them
- Don’t interrupt them
- Don’t push them to make lots of friends
- Teach them new skills privately
While I understand a lot of these goals make sense, I believe it shouldn’t be looked as something that needs to be taken care off, but rather something that needs to be better understood. I don’t really agree with the idea that introverts need to be taught new skills privately, quietness is not the same as shyness, and being to ones self does no equate to not having any social skills. Some of the most common misconceptions include:
- Introverts are anti-social. While many introverts are drained by social encounters and most energized by solitary, they are often mistaken as being shy, or having social phobia. This however is not true, many introverts socialize easily, but may just prefer to have a few people close to them. Introverts appreciate social interaction (like most humans do) their personality just requires different amounts of interactions.
- Introverts have no confidence. This is an inaccurate perception that is well believed. Again just because introverts choose not to talk to everyone or may choose not to have small talk, does not mean they are not capable of it.
- Introverts are boring. This all depends on the person and their idea of fun, but introverts can have fun in their own way without being the exact representation of what society considers mainstream fun.
- Introverts will not be successful. Wrong. Ones success is not measured by whether they love being surrounded by others or not. While this culture prefers extraverts personality, quietness does not amount to failure.
Source: google.co.uk via Rafael on Pinterest
Introverts are normal, just like any extravert they have their preferences and their own ways of doing things. What we must remember is that just because something seems a little different than what “normal” is, or what is expected to be, does not make it wrong.
Source: 26.media.tumblr.com via Rafael on Pinterest
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