In Defence of Extroverts

This article is a response to an article written by Jonathan Rauch which I read earlier. If you have never read it, here is the link: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-your-introvert/2696/

It's quite an old article but I have only read it and here is my two cents.

First off, I want to state my position. I am, with an approximate calculation, 85-90% introvert. And yes, I am writing this in defence of extroverts. I will make this short, as I actually have other work to do.

So reading the article, I felt a little ashamed of being an introvert. Apparently, we are being stereotyped as intelligent beings who have a limited time span dedicated to socialising, and prefer to indulge ourselves in 'alone time' which rejuvenates our deep-thinking spirit. We also find other people to be tiring. See the problem with the article is, although the author did not state it, he made introverts sound like absolute snobs. Extroverts were, in his article, compared to puppy dogs who cannot understand us 'intelligent beings' and would 'listen for a moment and then go back to barking and yipping'.

The author is being very stereotypical here. With statements that almost mean 'the world would be a better place without extroverts', I feel almost shamed to be in this category of the society (by this I am defining myself in terms of the definitions provided in the article).

So then, in my opinion, what are extroverts good at? Extroverts are good at socialising. Is that important? Yes, I believe it is. Socialising is the most primary human nature. The more you socialise, the more you understand human behaviour, and the best ways to deal with different types of character. It is a skill that cannot be learnt from books, but you just have to get out there. The social network (not facebook) is a strong... you might say tool, to reach success. And said social network does not consist of introverts only. But extroverts as well. If we look at them as dogs, they will appear to us as dogs.

The point is, we cannot belittle people who are not similar to us. Once you form this negativity, you will push yourself even further from other people, as the seed is already planted in your mind. Humans are humans. Extroverts are not dogs. I know many extroverts whom I admire. Personally, I think the ideal way to face life is to have a balance of being an 'extrovert' and an 'introvert', as both have their good points.