Introvert Or Extrovert?

This is how I feel. I simply don't have anything to say to most people, and when I do say something for the sake of not coming across like a total asshole or "weirdo," it is just so much of an effort it seems.... like a put on. If it's someone I know well enough, or someone I can have a decent conversation with, that's different. But for the most part socializing seems like such a farce because most of what comes out of people's mouths is such bullshit.... especially when it comes to small talk and the short exchanges people have in their daily interactions with others they're around (at work, in public, etc.) It's like one of those things people feel they have to do to be "normal." I don't really say much to people unless I am spoken to first. Otherwise it's just the usual "hey, how's it going?" sort of thing. I never engage people in conversations unless it's someone I know, and even then it's usually only when I have something of substance to say.

 

I'm a hermit...

 

Yes :daisy:

 

I'm not shy or socially awkward. Being in public is just something I get paid to do on different levels. I can't say I hate it and sometimes I even have some satisfaction in it but it's not where my heart is really. My favorite place in the world is on my back deck, maybe alone or with my family...just watching the birds and other animals.

 

I’m an introvert but I’m an extrovert when I need to be one (at work, parties, family gatherings, funerals, weddings)

Oddly enough I feel most at peace (not when I’m at home) but when I’m surrounded by large groups of people totaling in the 100s of thousands

Hotwater

 

Would not have thought that

And wouldn't have thought this neither if you didn't mentioned it some time earlier! It seems most reasonable people are able to downplay the often faulty reasons for social anxiety (and you're one of the most reasonable on here )
Disclaimer: not saying that people with social anxiety are unreasonable people by default!

Sounds definitely not shy if you explain it like that. Textbook introvert! I can easily relate but am glad I 'opened up' so to say. I even enjoy small talk with complete strangers a lot (although especially when it doesn't last long )

I love that feeling at music festivals. Like feeling you're among likeminded people but you're also going up in the crowd and anonymity. Not sure this has to do with being intro or extroverted. As I just enjoy being in the crowd and it's not really about communicating at all

 

a society that lacks equal room and opportunity for both is a tyranny.

one which forces anyone to be other then the inclination toward which they are born with, is the reason there are mental illnesses.

also its a matter of degree. people who are too extroverted, i'd rather not be around very much,
however amusing i might find them on stage or on line.

i don't mean i think there's anything wrong with how anyone is born,
its just how i am. one of those ways in which i find i'm rather like a cat.

 

People would probably say that I'm super introverted. I just don't like talking to people that much and interacting with them.

 

More on the extrovert side but I do also need my own space and time. I enjoy being around people and interaction in social situations. I tend to mix well and find people to be interesting.

 

both. this is silly. it takes effort and even unnatural conviction to 'be' extroverted. So IMO introverts are just pussies who secretly wish they were extroverted but haven't learned the social skills,
then blame their poor smart 'introverted' brain as the solution.

 

are those the only options? i'm pretty introverted, and most people know and accept that. i don't like to be super social, and i don't pretend to.

i suppose i have to admit that i do a little work-related faking. and of course, i do enjoy some social contact, and as an introvert my natural inclination is not to seek out social contact on my own, so the work-related socializing is actually pretty welcome a lot of the time too.

yeah, i get that too. i wouldn't say i feel better there than at home alone, but there is a definite appeal to blending into a crowd.

 

I am quite the introvert. I prefer to focus on my own thoughts than having to deal with the drama and emotions of others.

 

Juggalette,

Motherfacko!

 

it is an uphill battle. You have to start over with a brand new person every time. repeat customers are nice,

 

It can differ a lot on the kind of crowd though

 

I love the feeling of being alone in a crowd but it can't be TOO big of a crowd - like I hate going to concerts nowadays and feeling like I'm packed in like sardines, or like the various festivals my town has throughout the year where there are so many people you can hardly walk.

but the crowd of a city in motion, where everyone is full of energy and hurrying to get to where they want to be, that is my kind of crowd. My idea of heaven would be wandering around NYC or similar city, alone and surrounded by millions of people. Just for a few days though, i would start feeling lonely eventually

 

Know what you mean on the 4th of July a friend and I were at the Esplanade concert in Boston and the trip back to my car was almost surreal walking in concert with an estimated crowd of 500,000


Hotwater

 

Can be.

Overcrowded is another thing. I don't think extroverts dig them much either (although they may have more fun standing half an hour in line to get beer)

 

I took the test .. pretty good test actually. This is what I got.


INTJ
Introvert(34%) iNtuitive(53%) Thinking(47%) Judging(12%)

• You have moderate preference of Introversion over Extraversion (34%)
• You have moderate preference of Intuition over Sensing (53%)
• You have moderate preference of Thinking over Feeling (47%)
• You have slight preference of Judging over Perceiving (12%)

I totally know what you mean about making small talk .. I suck ass at making small talk. I wanna discuss the really deep, really interesting questions, and better understand our world.