Let's hear it for introverts!

There has been some discussion about the interwebs in recent times about introverts, and the fact that some of the “care for introverts” directions floating around may be a little sooky, so I laughed out loud when I read a short article by Eleanor Robertson, in Frankie Issue 48, on introverts. Here is a portion:

The best way to tell if you’re an introvert is to imagine how you’d feel if someone told you that you had to spend an entire day every week totally alone. The more extraverted will usually wither during a period of extended solitude, keening for the stimulation of other humans. Introverts, on the other hand, will breathe a sigh of relief and ask if the arrangement can be made permanent. There are obviously lots of people who sit somewhere between these two poles, but in my experience, the extremely extroverted are suspicious of the introverts, because extraversion tends to be normalised and rewarded in our society ... most of our social environments cater for introversion about the same way as tropical beach holidays cater to a nocturnal penguin.

There are ways to make your introversion work for you, which is why I’m sitting here writing instead of working in an office or retail job until I mentally collapse and try to build my own personal orbiting space station ... Additionally, if you’re into solitary creative activities, like making art or music, or sitting quietly in a dark corner by yourself while you breathe in a regular pattern and imagine you’re the only person on Earth, you’re at a unique advantage!

Having said that, I do think it’s up to introverts to try and [(sic) to] learn better ways of coping with society’s fascist expectation that you occasionally leave your house and interact with other human beings. Sure, you could just hide under a pile of blankets and make someone bring your food without ever making eye contact, but we’re all in this together!