Introverted socialite
A modern contradiction?
For the past twenty years, I’ve interacted with thousands of people from dozens of countries — and I’m a card-carrying member of introverts anonymous.
All thanks to this funny little invention called the Internet. Or as I like to call it — introverts paradise.
Gone are the days of having to drive to the mall or, God forbid, attend a networking event to socialize.
A way-too-brief 20 year history of the Internet:
First, it allowed you and I to chat with our closest friends via instant messenger. Do you remember your first screen name? I’ll go first, but you have to promise you won’t laugh — LindsayLover999. Can you guess who my sixth grade girlfriend was?
Next, it allowed you and I to spy on our more distant friends via Myspace (shoutout Tom) and Facebook (shoutout Zuck).
Now, it allows us to connect with complete strangers via Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, and more.
I love this latest iteration of the Internet because it cures my intellectual isolation. I get to engage with interesting ideas shared by brilliant people without permission. I’ll spend hours by myself, tucked away in my little nook, interacting with hundreds of ideas for a few seconds each.
But then when friends want to hang out in real life, I tell them I need some alone time to recharge.
They probably wonder, “Why? You’ve been home alone all day you weirdo.”
So I reply (in my head), “Yeah, but I’ve already been hypersocial this morning. Now I’m exhausted and need to click off for a bit.”
I like my internet social life, so I’m not complaining — just exploring the topic.
But I’ll admit, it’s weird — being physically alone + super social. An introverted socialite.
At first I thought this was unique to our modern times. But then I remembered my introverted mother chatting on the phone for hours with her family and friends who were thousands of miles away.
And before that, my introverted grandfather would sit down at his desk and respond for hours to handwritten letters he’d received from family still stuck in Iran.
This new internet social life works for me. Because I get to choose when and for how long I interact with others. It’s perfect when I want to be social, but also lay on my couch. I just grab my little black box (iPhone) and dive into captivating conversations with brilliant people discussing interesting ideas. Many of whom I’ve never met and will never meet.
But it’s a strange life. The introverted socialite.
Likes and comments below.
"And before that, my introverted grandfather would sit down at his desk and respond for hours to handwritten letters he’d received from family still stuck in Iran." What a beautiful snapshot. As introverts we get pulled out and engaged by things that matter.
Man, you described my personality better than Myers-Briggs test.
Although my older family members have historically been physically social, it seems like they’ve become more internet social.
They don’t talk on the phone as long or go to events as much, but they’re scrolling through FB. It’s almost as if they were social introverts all along haha