Introverts and Social Networking: A Match Made in Heaven
By Admin
January 2, 2009
North Charleston, SC (January 2, 2009) - It is undeniable that the internet has changed the world we live in. It is equally undeniable that social networking has changed the internet and how we communicate. Social networking is a core feature of nearly every new website, and a mainstay of older ones. Some of the world’s most visited websites such as Facebook and MySpace are dedicated social networking sites. Also many sites such as Amazon and Wikipedia are based on or feature user generated content as a major component of their site. IntrovertCentral.com was built with this in mind, as it features forums, RSS feeds and user generated content along with other “Web 2.0” functionality that allows user to communicate and network. What does this have to do with introverts you ask? The answer is simple. Online social networking and introverts are a match made in heaven.
Social Media provides us the control we lack in real life socializing. The computer screen acts as a filter or sometimes barrier between us and the world. One of the main reasons that an introvert might not start a conversation is that they are concerned that they might become “trapped” in it. Introverts can’t simply end a conversation abruptly when they have decided they are done talking because they will sometimes appear rude and offend the other parties involved. Since introverts hate substance lacking small talk this can be unnerving enough to bypass conversations all together. This is not a problem with social networking because a lot of the communication is asynchronous (sending communications back and forth with a delay in between) so there is always a convent break in between which allows an introvert to either rest off or end the conversation if they wish so. It is the proverbial get out of jail free card. If you don’t want to talk now you can just reply to their message latter or not at all. You can reply to email, leave a chat room, or log out of a forum anytime you want without concern for other people’s feelings or your own.
Walking off in the middle of a conversation with a push extravert that is determined to keep your conversation going as long as possible can make you both look bad and be potential dangerous for you if they become angered. The biggest issues you will encounter online are some occasional trolling and flaming by some preteen who would never say such a thing to your face. In other words it is just so much easier just to log off when you have had your fill of socializing especially when you have a very small appetite to begin with, and if things do go bad you will always have the handy dandy close window or logout button at your disposal.
Online social media allows introverts to start and end social interaction whenever they would like which is a god send to introverts who no longer have to deal with loud parties full of strange people who they have no interest in meeting in order to socialize. Social networking is also an invaluable source for connecting with others, reading their ideas on various topics, and perhaps actually meeting a few people like yourself that you could become friends with or even for finding your next hot date. There are also social networking sites like LinkedIn which help you form connections with people who can get a great new job to advance your career. All this goes to show you that by leveraging social networking you can improve your life and make the most out of your introverted ways.
- Admin
