The Extrovert Ideal

Our society favors the extroverted. We see being outgoing and bold as an admirable quality, why? We encourage individuals to strive in social situations, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but we discourage solitude and most often mistake this as shyness or a social disorder when in reality many prefer quiet contemplation over the exhaustion of constant human interaction. This is not a disorder or a handicap. It’s called being introverted. In contrast to common belief is most often not due to shyness; a tendency to avoid social situations because of fear or anxiety. Being introverted is to prefer the solitude of one’s thoughts over most social situations, but this does not mean an introvert is antisocial but that social interactions are mentally and physically trying.

Based on recent studies it has been determined that about one out of every three Americans are introverts. Does this surprise you? This is mostly due to the fact that many introverted people put on the facade of being gregarious and unreserved because we have (although many don’t realize it) a narrow selection of personalities that our society accepts. You may be thinking what about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Einstein they were admired and accepted. This is true but they, as well as a myriad of others like Rosa Parks or Abraham Lincoln, made magnificent discoveries or led people in a nation changing movement which demanded the notice of others. They were our society’s exceptions simply because they gained fame and importance, but what of the rest of us?

I am an Introvert, no I am not shy or soft spoken and, as you have most likely already concluded, I have strong opinions and am not afraid to voice them. The only difference between an introvert and an extrovert is that the latter has more endurance for social interactions. Why society admires and recognizes extraverts is a mystery to me. It may be human nature, or survival instinct, or it could be something indistinguishable from the next out of millions of possibilities. The only thing I’m certain of is that however long humanity persists there will always be bias of one kind or another I just hope we are able to persist.