Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown • Hacker News Board

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#41

Post by Angostura » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:24 PM UTC

archsurface wrote: post #14

BBC attempting to sway/nudge/gaslight, as usual. Firstly, it wasn't a lockdown, that's just the fear motive militaristic terminology they thought would achieve their goals - so much was open, and traffic congestion across cities daily, it could be called a slowdown or a partial shutdown, but "lockdown" is just transparent. The slowdown is the reason I haven't quit my current employer; my social life is just as crap a…

I've read this several times, but I'm nit actually clear what you are accusing the BBC or the government of. It's reasonable to call the first even from March 2020 a 'lockdown'. The rules in the UK were pretty clear - unless you are a keyworker don't leave your house apart from essential shopping or 1 hour of local excercise.

Since then restrictions have been eased in what can probably best be described as partial lockdowns.

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#42

Post by matsemann » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:24 PM UTC

I don't fully agree with the article's definition of introversion. I feel it conflates extroversion with being outgoing, and introversion with being reserved. One can be outgoing and introverted, for instance.

My theory, btw, is that we introverts got our perfect dose of social contact by going to work and a few outings here and there. But during the pandemic it was easy to just do nothing with it as a "mental excuse", and when I didn't get social events handed to me it kinda just became nothing. Normally I wouldn't have to seek out social stuff to get my dose, but now it suddenly was too little.

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#43

Post by Zababa » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:25 PM UTC

One thing that's not mentionned: a lockdown means you're constantly spending time with the people you live with. That means almost no more moments where you're alone in your home. I know that I get irritable after some time when we go for a family vacation and spend all our time together, because I need some time for myself and some control over my actions. I've never heard about agency in the context of introvert/extrovert, but I think it matters a lot. I value being able to make my own decisions a lot, and having long periods where all decisions have to be taken in group exhausts me.

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#44

Post by rozab » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:25 PM UTC

kristofferR wrote: post #28

tboyd47 wrote: post #20

There aren’t any measurable elements of personality that are fixed. Personality changes as you age. I’ve witnessed a reversal in each of the Myers-Briggs markers in the past 15 years (from INTJ to ESFP) — not intentionally, but that’s just the way my life played out. I’ve come to see the truth of the matter like this: every human being has a need for socializing, but it takes effort and is exhausting. The amount of e…

Agree! One of the most harmful beliefs about the concept of intro-/extroversion is that it is something you are and not something you do. Many people limit themselves massively because of how they've labeled themselves. Especially in "strong introverts", the label is often used as a convenient excuse for not going through the often painful process of trying to improve their confidence skills and social skills. "I'm a…

This isn't very HN friendly content and certainly is not meant to be taken at face value, but here's a vid that kind of captures the zeitgeist of the introvert trend:

https://youtu.be/ikw4V_x-CFI

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#45

Post by Pokepokalypse » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:26 PM UTC

Well, it's a bit of a stereotyping joke to begin with. Introverts aren't necessarily a solid bloc of total introverts - many just need to measure or limit their social interaction, and may simply prefer a small amount.

Absolutely NO interaction at all, is fairly rare, and more of a feature of people with schizoaffective disorder, and pretty much falls outside the "normal" spectrum of introversion.

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#46

Post by ineedasername » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:26 PM UTC

That makes sense, an introvert might be fine with isolation & content with their introvert nature, but there are going to be plenty who are not, and losing the little bit of socializing they had takes them to a worse place in terms of mental health.

For my part, I'm introverted, but pretty content with where I'm at. My socialization comes primarily from my family, and there's a few of us living within a few blocks that all observed strict social distancing, were fortunate enough to have jobs we could do from home and enough money to pay a premium on grocery delivery etc.

Very little changed for me except that I got to see my kids more, spent less time in meetings, and didn't waste an hour getting back & forth to an office.

Certainly many other people, introvert or not, were not in nearly as fortunate of a position as I was.

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#47

Post by x14km2d » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:26 PM UTC

* self employment 20 yrs.+

* none-smoker

* none-alcohol drinker

* programmer

* autist

* hard service user (food delivery, Amazon, etc.)

I go out for the dentist or a small walk. One day holiday in a year. The pandemic changes nothing to me.

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#48

Post by CM30 » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:28 PM UTC

I'm extremely introverted and wanted to work from home for years because of it, but lockdown still sucked for me because:

1. There was no choice in the matter, which felt suffocating rather than liberating. Being able to do something just hits differently than being forced to, regardless of how much you 'enjoy' what you're being forced to do.

2. Being stuck inside without any other options means every day felt like an extension of the same endless one, which means you lose track of time and feel kinda meaningless.

3. And as I realised, while I was introverted, I wasn't introverted 'enough' that complete isolation would be perfectly fine for me. Everyone is different in how introverted/extroverted they are, and while some people can likely do well in complete isolation for decades at a time, most people can't. If you couldn't do well like that, lockdown was hell.

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#49

Post by MattGaiser » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:30 PM UTC

tboyd47 wrote: post #38

kristofferR wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree! One of the most harmful beliefs about the concept of intro-/extroversion is that it is something you are and not something you do. Many people limit themselves massively because of how they've labeled themselves. Especially in "strong introverts", the label is often used as a convenient excuse for not going through the often painful process of trying to improve their confidence skills and social skills. "I'm a…

Aye. It’s funny, perusing the other comments in this thread, how attached people are to these labels, which really have no factual basis at all. We choose the stories that we tell about ourselves; yet we act as if the stories chose us.

I don't think it is so much attachment to labels, but rather that people use these articles to deny our preferences.

"Humans are social creatures, so you will be happier" is what people reply whenever I choose to work at a hackathon alone, or prefer to skip all the social events at the office, or contemplate working remotely on a permanent basis, or back when I was in school and would go to the library to read rather than play with other children.

Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown

#50

Post by SamoyedFurFluff » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 3:31 PM UTC

tboyd47 wrote: post #38

kristofferR wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree! One of the most harmful beliefs about the concept of intro-/extroversion is that it is something you are and not something you do. Many people limit themselves massively because of how they've labeled themselves. Especially in "strong introverts", the label is often used as a convenient excuse for not going through the often painful process of trying to improve their confidence skills and social skills. "I'm a…

Aye. It’s funny, perusing the other comments in this thread, how attached people are to these labels, which really have no factual basis at all. We choose the stories that we tell about ourselves; yet we act as if the stories chose us.

I wouldn’t go so extreme with this. Sometimes stories do choose us. I don’t know anyone who got to choose the circumstances of their birth, for example, or the lucky breaks and unlucky breaks that happen along the way of living. Sometimes they drastically affect our story.