Introversion 101

Introversion gets a bad reputation, veiled in part by misinformation, and judged by extroverts with all the vehemence of Star-Bellied Sneeches, sure that their way is the right way, sure that introverts are snobs, dimwits, or potentially mentally ill.

Thanks for that, guys.

The most often-cited statistic about introversion is that introverts make up 25% to a third of the general population. But this was an estimated number, all the way back in the 1960s, when someone asked Isabel Myers (of the Myers-Briggs personality test) what percentage of the population introverts comprised. It was a guess.

In 1998, the Myers-Briggs organization released data compiled from their official tests - and introverts make up 50.7 percent of the general population, with extroverts rounding out the other 49.3 percent.

How is it that introverts can represent half of the general population and still be so poorly misunderstood and misrepresented?

In the same way that society can tell us that blonde women are more attractive than brunettes and redheads, prompting women to book appointments with hair stylists, society has fed us the line that extroverts are more attractive than introverts. And so many people hide their introversion, or never fully understand it to begin with.

What qualities to introverts possess? Well, you might be an introvert if...

• You get energy from being on your own, or doing your own thing when solitude isn't an option. 
• You don't care for small talk - you prefer to talk about big ideas.
• You don't mind socializing, necessarily, but prefer one-on-one interactions or small groups over crowds. 
• You think before you act or speak (even if it means you sometimes miss your chance).
• You have a rich inner life, filled with daydreams, ideas, theories, and thoughts you're still working out. 
• When you're left on your own, you rarely get bored. 
• You get overwhelmed in crowds, around loud noises, or in areas of frenetic activity (cough - Ikea - cough)
• You enjoy analyzing everything.

In contrast, extroverts are the kind of people who thrive being around other people. They're the people who will chat your ear off, if you let them, because they work out ideas by talking, rather than waiting until they have fully formed ideas to speak, like introverts tend to do. 

Just like how introverts may feel drained after a day being surrounded by people, extroverts may feel drained by too much solitude. They start to get bored, and crave interaction as a means of recharging. 

There's nothing wrong with being an introvert or an extrovert - the problem lies in the expectation that everyone should fit the same model. American society focuses on extroversion as the ideal. (Evidenced by our love of professional football and cramming as many sports fans into one arena as possible.) 

People hold a lot of stereotypes about introverts:

• Because introverts tend to listen more than they speak, people may assume their silence is a sign of aloofness or a superiority complex. Or depression. 
• Because introverts prefer to have their ideas polished before they share them, people may assume they have nothing to add to a discussion. 
• Because introverts may not willingly offer up personal information without being asked, people may assume they aren't open to new friends. 
• Because introverts find solitude energizing, people may assume they hate being around people. 
• Because extroverts can't imagine spending long stretches of time alone, introverts must be unhinged. (The Unibomber did us no favors on this front.)

These assumptions are more than a little unfair. They're particularly inflammatory to introverts because we know we're being judged by extroverts and an extroverted society, and our livelihoods depend on it. The entire model of society is built on the expectation of extroversion - from schools that rely heavily on vocal participation and teamwork, to office jobs that lean toward open-air cubicles and require self-promotion to get ahead - all things that play against an introvert's strengths. Some jobs flat out state that introverts are not welcome - again proving that people have no real idea what an introvert is or how they function. 

Let's set the record straight. When more than half of the population identifies as something, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. 

Just like there's nothing wrong with letting your roots grow out. If there's one thing I know for certain, blondes and extroverts do not have more fun than the rest of us.