What The Internet Gets Wrong About Introverts | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

What The Internet Gets Wrong About Introverts

The representation of introverts is as monolithic and stifling as it is meme-worthy and amusing.

45
What The Internet Gets Wrong About Introverts
IDG Connect

The Internet is a fine purveyor of many things: cat videos, memes, and invitations from relatives to join their agricultural mecca in FarmVille come to mind. But the social media sites that spout listicles filed under #relatable have yet to master the proper representation of a quiet, but familiar friend: the introvert.

On Tumblr and beyond, awkward is cute, shyness is a virtue, and being an introvert is cool. Being different is the red badge of courage we wear proudly on retweets, reblogs and likes because finally someone gets us. But what happens when the cool and different you leads you to create a caricature of yourself?

Although it's nice to have an alternate world where the unsung hero is the mascot, the social media wrought representation of the introvert is monolithic and stifling as much as it is meme-worthy and amusing.

Perhaps the following image will jog your Tumblr-fried memory: pizza-eating, people-hating, all they really want to do is binge watch Netflix at home and avoid social interaction by reading a book or pensively staring out windows.

And just like that, the introvert has been turned into one of the most pervasive memes yet.

This introvert representation is also seen in trendy Buzzfeed lists and a gif of April Ludgate expressing her hatred of people, but certainly there’s more to introversion than having a penchant for some alone time and Netflix binging. These activities, after all, are only human.

According to a TED talk by Susan Cain, author of Quiet, up to half the population consists of introverts. Contrary to popular belief, introverts do not hate people nor are they recluses or necessarily shy. One common definition of an introvert is an individual who needs to recharge after social activities or gains energy from solitude. So while a Buzzfeed listicle about the “23 things all introverts understand,” can hit it right on the mark, it can also miss the target and propagate the “I hate people” rhetoric associated with introverts. However, there’s far more to introversion than a need for solitude and introspection, these are only marks of being human.

A 2014 article in the Scientific American points out that the characteristic of recharging after social activities is not exclusive to introverts, but extroverts as well, along with other traits associated with introversion like sensitivity and introspection. Rather, according to the article, extroversion is marked by a sensitivity to social rewards and a proclivity for sociability, whereas introversion is well, the opposite. There’s no one-sized fits all version of extroversion or introversion. In fact, a recent New York Magazine article says that there are four different kinds of introversion: social, thinking, anxious and restrained.

What the Internet gets wrong about the introvert and what we introverts get wrong about ourselves stems from the lack of a cohesive definition of the adjectives and nouns we define ourselves by. Introvert, extrovert, ambivert, we’re all meme-worthy and like a nice old-fashioned Netflix binge. We’re bonded by our mutual -vert's, sometimes the prefix is irrelevant.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

The Daily Struggles of Being a College Commuter

It's not all morning coffees and singing along to the radio.

245
The Daily Struggles of Being a College Commuter
morethanwheels

I've been in college for four years now. I spent half my time as a commuter and half as a resident so I've experienced both sides of the housing spectrum. One thing I've learned comparing the two is that my struggles as a commuter far outweigh anything I went through while living on campus. Commuters have to deal with the problems school brings along with a slew of other issues; I've filled up my gas tank in the worst kind of weather conditions and napped in random places in public more times than I'm proud to say of. This is a list of some of the most challenging aspects of being a commuter.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

15 Times Michael Scott's Life Was Worse Than Your Life

Because have you ever had to endure grilling your foot on a George Foreman?

3029
Michael Scott
NBC

Most of the time, the world's (self-proclaimed) greatest boss is just that, the greatest. I mean, come on, he's Michael Freakin' Scott after all! But every once in a while, his life hits a bit of a speed bump. (or he actually hits Meredith...) So if you personally are struggling through a hard time, you know what they say: misery loves company! Here are 15 times Michael Scott's life was worse than your life:

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

12 Midnight NYE: Fun Ideas!

This isn't just for the single Pringles out there either, folks

17381
Friends celebrating the New Years!
StableDiffusion

When the clock strikes twelve midnight on New Year's Eve, do you ever find yourself lost regarding what to do during that big moment? It's a very important moment. It is the first moment of the New Year, doesn't it seem like you should be doing something grand, something meaningful, something spontaneous? Sure, many decide to spend the moment on the lips of another, but what good is that? Take a look at these other suggestions on how to ring in the New Year that are much more spectacular and exciting than a simple little kiss.

Keep Reading...Show less
piano
Digital Trends

I am very serious about the Christmas season. It's one of my favorite things, and I love it all from gift-giving to baking to the decorations, but I especially love Christmas music. Here are 11 songs you should consider adding to your Christmas playlists.

Keep Reading...Show less
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments