As society begins to be more ostracized and isolated, introversion is going to be a more highly valued trait since we are able to bear the brunt of the new paradigm more than extroverts who are unable to cope with the loneliness.
Does anyone else feel like Introverts are slowly gaining an upper hand these days?
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I don’t think there is any hand to be had. Society will oscillate, or ebb and flow at least, as it adapts and seeks equilibrium.
Research on mental health after the initial COVID presentation suggests both introverts and extroverts were negatively affected.
Cheers,
Ian
Research on mental health after the initial COVID presentation suggests both introverts and extroverts were negatively affected.
Cheers,
Ian
- Sep 28, 2008
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Tech is just adapting to extrovert sensibilities, so this time frame of introvert "supremacy" will kinda be short lived.
Perhaps what each looks like will morph in the future, but engagement will be adapted for extrovert sensibilities.
90s internet was a real introvert haven, not so much anymore or looking forward.
Granted it is and will be easier to carve out space for introverts, so maybe the distribution will end up a little more even.
Time will tell.
Perhaps what each looks like will morph in the future, but engagement will be adapted for extrovert sensibilities.
90s internet was a real introvert haven, not so much anymore or looking forward.
Granted it is and will be easier to carve out space for introverts, so maybe the distribution will end up a little more even.
Time will tell.
A few thoughts off-the-cuff
Depends which society we come from - there have always been cultures around the world where introversion is more acceptable than extraversion. In my country (UK) introversion is common and fairly normalised, though extraversion is strong here too.
I don't much like catchwords because they can distort an underlying meaning, but 'Sigma' is a useful personality type to illustrate what I think might be going on in our more extraverted countries. I suspect it's not that introversion is taking over, but that sigma personality types are coming to be respected, admired and even envied. It's a kind of emancipation similar to that of gender, race, etc, but it seems to be thankfully freer from political hijacking and social polarisation conflict - at least at the moment.
For many of us, at its best confident, introverted (relative) self-sufficiency is something to be aimed at and proud of - if it becomes elitist, contentious, smug, isolationist then it becomes yet another game of social disorder.
Depends which society we come from - there have always been cultures around the world where introversion is more acceptable than extraversion. In my country (UK) introversion is common and fairly normalised, though extraversion is strong here too.
I don't much like catchwords because they can distort an underlying meaning, but 'Sigma' is a useful personality type to illustrate what I think might be going on in our more extraverted countries. I suspect it's not that introversion is taking over, but that sigma personality types are coming to be respected, admired and even envied. It's a kind of emancipation similar to that of gender, race, etc, but it seems to be thankfully freer from political hijacking and social polarisation conflict - at least at the moment.
For many of us, at its best confident, introverted (relative) self-sufficiency is something to be aimed at and proud of - if it becomes elitist, contentious, smug, isolationist then it becomes yet another game of social disorder.
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I have noticed a rise in the popularity of introversion.
My experience in the UK is that the public space is being slowly taken over by extroversion. It feels almost impossible to find peace now. There is noise, and a desire for noise, everywhere.
I don't know if I'd call being glued to one's screen and being disconnected from the real world introversion, or if it's a good thing at all. This is the only tend towards isolation (not introversion) I've noticed, and I think people in general are suffering from it.
Meet generation stay-at-home: âYou donât need to pay to go clubbing: you can sit at home and watch it on your phoneâ
Why have so many teens and twentysomethings stopped going out?
Extroverts get energised from interactions. Those can be online or in person.
Popularity, cooperation, business, etc all involve interactions. In terms of social success, extroverts will always have an advantage.
In terms of enjoying or remaining emotionally functional in isolation, introverts may have an advantage, but it's not an advantage to succeed, but an advantage in resilience. The only situations where this may be a significant advantage are extreme extended survival situations, like being marooned alone on an island, or being sentenced to solitary confinement.
If there's a growing conversation about the advantages of being introverted, I just read it as, "the cope is getting louder."
I note the above, as an introverted intj.
Popularity, cooperation, business, etc all involve interactions. In terms of social success, extroverts will always have an advantage.
In terms of enjoying or remaining emotionally functional in isolation, introverts may have an advantage, but it's not an advantage to succeed, but an advantage in resilience. The only situations where this may be a significant advantage are extreme extended survival situations, like being marooned alone on an island, or being sentenced to solitary confinement.
If there's a growing conversation about the advantages of being introverted, I just read it as, "the cope is getting louder."
I note the above, as an introverted intj.
I think introversion is glorified precisely because it is not understood, which enables some to make a spectacle of their oppression for validation, instead of enacting real change.
Honestly, I don't know of any time when introversion or extroversion was valued more than the other on a mass scale. A lot of very famous and successful people are/were introverted. Most of daily life responsibilities in the modern world are/were tailored for people to live more conveniently and individually. In America, the first president and most prominent founding father, George Washington, was most likely an introvert, ISTP. Thus, the ideals of the USA, and its culture, are going to be highly favorable on average to the ISTP-style of personality. Majority of the world's population, according to MBTI stats across the decades, show introverted sensors as having the majority share of the population, ISTJ+ISFJ together make up anywhere from 30-45% of the overall population. Extroversion preference, according to all this, seems like a relatively newer but not-so-surprising phenomena, since much of the mass media, since the arrival of the radio and television, seems to promote Extroverted lifestyles. The models for modern happiness and success seem to advertise a life of extroversion. In my experience I don't see extraverts any more happy or successful than introverts. However, what I do see in my purview is higher and higher preferences for Sensing over Intuition, in all sectors of the populace around the world. Only brief periods of culture, it seems, do Intuitives gain the upper hand in representing an idealized image for the culture. Beyond that, for the average person, I don't think introversion or extraversion really matters to anyone. Being a good person, paying your taxes/dues, treating people with respect, and always looking on the brightside are seemingly universally favored traits across cultures and time-periods, regardless of introversion/extroversion/sensing/intuitive preferences.
In my personal experience in the hell that is the American experience extroverts still have the upper hand sadly but that hand over fist dominance waned a good bit with the covid years at least creating some sort of foot hold for introverts and neurodivergents some opportunity to work from home. I do see mental illness being even more of an big issue for extroverts given the track record of newer forms of social media like tiktok now going into the era of AI and VR for example will only add fuel to the fire.
i think why there are more introverts is because they are mistyped extroverts. Recently i met an Enfp and they said they were an intj, FIRST of all i don't know how they tested that, (i don't like the tests that much btw) but then she talked about how after parties she feels tired. So I had to explain how everyone gets tired, so long story short, extroverts think they are introverts just because they get somewhat drained after a 6-hour party. And its really surprising how many people think they are introverts when they are the most extroverted people i know. But thats the conclusion im coming up with.
I think any meaningful conversation about introversion and extroversion needs to disentangle the two kinds of extroversion discussed here:
Basically, one way of being extroverted is "I enjoy being around others and derive energy from their company" (which is usually how people interpret the E in MBTI as well), and another is "I enjoy leading others, public speaking, performing, and the like." In general, these two kinds of extroversion are positively correlated, but there are exceptions, like me, who is at the extreme end of introversion when it comes to the "needs alone time" definition but also enjoys public speaking and teaching.
The modern style of corporate work involves spending a lot of time alone staring at a computer screen, perhaps in video calls with colleagues but equally often just sending instant messages and emails here and there, and I think @Ronaldo has a point in that introverts of the "like being alone" sort have an advantage here. But there's also a big advantage to being good at networking, knowing how to reach out and influence people despite all the obstacles to frank communication, and being a compelling speaker or conversationalist, and the best way to learn those skills is probably still to like being around people and to want to have more interactions with them—which gives extroverts the upper hand.
Probably just knowing what your social and emotional preferences are and leaning into them (rather than trying to "convert" yourself into whichever type of 'vert seems most marketable at a given moment) is the best way to set yourself up for success.
Basically, one way of being extroverted is "I enjoy being around others and derive energy from their company" (which is usually how people interpret the E in MBTI as well), and another is "I enjoy leading others, public speaking, performing, and the like." In general, these two kinds of extroversion are positively correlated, but there are exceptions, like me, who is at the extreme end of introversion when it comes to the "needs alone time" definition but also enjoys public speaking and teaching.
The modern style of corporate work involves spending a lot of time alone staring at a computer screen, perhaps in video calls with colleagues but equally often just sending instant messages and emails here and there, and I think @Ronaldo has a point in that introverts of the "like being alone" sort have an advantage here. But there's also a big advantage to being good at networking, knowing how to reach out and influence people despite all the obstacles to frank communication, and being a compelling speaker or conversationalist, and the best way to learn those skills is probably still to like being around people and to want to have more interactions with them—which gives extroverts the upper hand.
Probably just knowing what your social and emotional preferences are and leaning into them (rather than trying to "convert" yourself into whichever type of 'vert seems most marketable at a given moment) is the best way to set yourself up for success.