One thing I have missed as an introvert is the "people watching" aspect. I don't need to be at the centre of things and don't enjoy big social occasions, but do enjoy walking around a bustling city, taking in the atmosphere. It feels like the world has stood still (or at least slowed) and that has made just my normal day-to-day less interesting. Introverts aren't disinterested in society - they just like to experienc…
Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown
61–70 of 203 posts
Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
The stories we tell about ourselves also massively shape ourselves. We always act how we think, so people should choose stories that are beneficial instead of detrimental. "I'm a introvert who can't be comfortable around other people" and "My social skills and confidence aren't where they should be, I need to keep working on that" are two similar stories with totally different outcomes.
I’m perfectly content to not be around other people for very long periods of time, like months at a time, other than buying groceries/supplies. Doesn’t bother me a bit, while it would drive my wife and kids crazy. I’m also perfectly fine when I am around other people, so in my case at least, it’s just a (lack of) preference rather than an inability.
Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
How we chose to write the story, with the elements we're handed, is our decision. We often can't affect what happens in the outside world, but how we interpret what happens is up to us.
Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It isn't a good way to live. Why do you choose to live like this. I am asking because wht you are describing here stuff of my dreams. I even bought a piece of land in rural colorado during the pandemic that I plan to start building in september.
Yea, I was going to say, OP's living situation sounds like a paradise to me. Also saving up for the big piece of rural land in the middle of nowhere. It sure beats commuting hours from a cramped home or apartment stacked up in a city with thousands of others, to a cramped office building where you sit literally shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of others and try to do work all day.
There are things that only start to affect you after extended time in a lifestyle.
Maybe it would actually be great for you, but it could also be that the downsides only become apparent after a year or two, at which point it can be hard to find a way to get to a good place.
EDIT: Current situation doesn’t sound healthy, though. The sweet spot is probably somewhere between the two extremes.
Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown
#65Earlier 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…
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
#66Was just watching Youtube video Veritassium about the non-existence of learning styles yesterday. I wonder if similar studies would show that there really are no introverts vs. extroverts in the sense that all people really have roughly the same need for human contact. Kind of like everyone needs physical activity, but some people gravitate more to it than others. Probably the wrong forum to voice such a theory...
> I wonder if similar studies would show that there really are no introverts vs. extroverts
There has been many and they show that introversion and extroversion are very real.
> in the sense that all people really have roughly the same need for human contact.
People often confuse need for contact, introversion and loneliness. They are different dimensions.
Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown
#67I'm a physically and socially isolated introvert in a rural county and have been working from home for a decade. About the only difference for me was the occasional need to put on a mask before walking in a store. My greatest inconvenience was very minor: I was turned away from a convenience store for not having a mask with me. Early in the lockdowns I made a trip to the closest big city for a dentist appointment and…
I'd like to hear more about your life experience - how much human contact do you have on a weekly basis?
On a year-to-year basis, there is usually one metal festival 2-3 concerts, 2-3 visits to the parents and every few months meeting with friends, those were pretty much the only things I lost during the pandemic.
I generally count myself as a winner of the pandemic, my job was not affected, private life barely, and I only know one person who got Covid (an American who studied in Germany a few years ago, he’s young and got over it with no lasting effects).
Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown
#68There 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…
However I have always felt that is a mask I wear, it's not who I really am and I find it draining when I put it on.
It appears to me the two things (social skills and introversion) are somewhat orthogonal.
Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown
#69There 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…
The world is often structured to heavily advantage highly social individuals. You're right that being less social or even asocial can bear a large accumulative cost.
Still, many of us live in our ways because we've followed our feelings and sensations. Trying to mold to the ways of interaction and time allocation according to the norms of a population that feels alien is wasteful. Instead, I spend my life exploring into less socially determined ways of being that seem a more functional and thoughtful in my experience. They're customized to me and feel great.
In fact, frequently some of my more social friends express a sense of relief and comfort when spending time with me. It feels more emotionally clean, whole, and loving to them. They love it but the population didn't teach them how to be this way and they also don't know how to navigate the divide to try living in this way more broadly. They appear to recognize it's unhealthy but also be tied to and habituated to the way of things so that psychologically bridging is too great an effort.
Being an introvert is definitely no easy way out. Extroverts tell me there's something wrong with me in lots of little ways and have excluded me regularly from the little clubs that form which has reduced my career trajectory and the rewards I receive from society (though I have still become greatly rewarded). Most concretely, I suspect that I would have had much more capital funding available for my passion projects if I had been more sociable. I would also suggest that the world would be a better place to live if I had received more funding but that's highly speculative.
Re: Introverts didn't 'win' lockdown
#70I'm a physically and socially isolated introvert in a rural county and have been working from home for a decade. About the only difference for me was the occasional need to put on a mask before walking in a store. My greatest inconvenience was very minor: I was turned away from a convenience store for not having a mask with me. Early in the lockdowns I made a trip to the closest big city for a dentist appointment and…