Before we delve too deep into this article, I want to clear up one big assumption that a lot of people make about introversion: being introverted and being shy are in no way the same thing. Shyness is the fear of social judgment while introversion is the preference for low-stimulation environments. While shy people may have difficulty speaking to a large group of people, introverts have no problem talking to that same group of people, just as long as they’re talking about something they’re personally invested in. Introversion is not a disease or an emotion, and it’s not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, it’s an integral part of our personalities.
Now that we’ve cleaned up that hot mess of a misconception, let me explain why introversion eventually does end up costing introverts, through no fault of their own. The main problem is that our society as it stands places much more value on extroversion than introversion. Marty Olson, author of The Introvert Advantage, found that teachers often think that their extroverted and outgoing students are smarter than the quieter more solitary introverted counterparts. In other words, we think the louder kids have better ideas and the quieter kids have nothing of value to say. Even though there is zero correlation between being the best speaker and having the best ideas, we still make these comparisons.
And when these introverts grow up, they’re thrown into workplaces where there are open cubicles, coworkers looking over their shoulders, and group project after group project. These workplaces are also filled with brainstorming sessions and presentations to give the boss. The solitude that introverts need is absent.
Sophia Yan ’15 explains that “introversion forces people to keep their ideas and thoughts to themselves instead of making an effort to share their beliefs with others.” At work, we are expected to shamelessly self-promote and vie for the top positions at our companies, businesses, or firms. This means that we have to speak loudly and interrupt people if need be—anything to get our opinion across. Introverts may feel very uncomfortable with speaking about their own accomplishments in a public atmosphere because they value thought over action.
Rana Shahani ’16 states that “When we look for leaders in our society, we look for those who are the most outgoing and most social. We seem to ignore the ones who keep to themselves but are equally as innovative and smart as the extroverts.” And he’s right. Our most famous figures of modern day tend to be the extroverted ones. Think about it, our most remembered presidents nowadays are almost always extroverts. George Washington, FDR, and Bill Clinton are always on the top of any history student’s list while men such as Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter are consistently forgotten. Over time, our culture has evolved from one focused on character into one focused on personality.
It’s pretty clear that introverts are indeed being harmed by their introverted nature. But that should not be the case. So how can we stop this trend that’s diminishing the potential of our introverts? Well first of all, just because we understand that group work can be taxing for an introvert, we shouldn’t just try to shun group work completely or require that all students stop talking to each other and make each man an island again. Collaboration is a necessary and vital part of the creative process. What we can do is increase the time spent working alone on a problem before grouping up and then we can encourage and promote the importance of solitude.
Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts, suggests that carrying our personalities is rather similar to carrying a suitcase. For extroverts, that suitcase may be filled with champagne glasses or skydiving equipment. To that, Cain encourages extroverts to “grace us all with your energy and joy.” Introverts on the other hand will probably have the instinct to guard their suitcases very carefully. And that’s okay; that should always be okay.
But Cain goes on to implore the introverts in our world to “occasionally, just occasionally, open up your suitcases for other people to see, because the world needs you and we need the things you carry.” I couldn’t have put it better myself.