Struggles of the Introverts in an Extroverted Society

From the commercial TV ads, to our school system and to workplaces, our society have always favored forwardness, spontaneity and the hail-fellow-well-met who put themselves out in the world. While the more reserved individuals shy away of their talents and overlooked at opportunities they would’ve had had they been more “enthusiastic”.

Parenting in 1950s believe that children who are quiet and solitary are unacceptable and that gregariousness are ideal for both genders. The quiet kids were singled-out as problem cases in school and were shunned for their solitary and serious demeanor. The parents of these introverted children mean well and were only preparing their kids for higher education and the “real world.”

For instance, in the late 1940s, Harvard’s provost Paul Buck declared that “Harvard should reject the ‘sensitive, neurotic’ type and the intellectually over-stimulated’ in favor of boys of the ’healthy extrovert kind” wrote, Susan Cain¹. 1950 Yale’s president, Alfred Whitney Griswold, stated that Yalie was not a “beetle-browed, highly specialized intellectual, but a well-rounded man.”

Furthermore, shy types are considered maladjusted people. The latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) considers Glossophobia–fear of public speaking–to be a disease if it interferes with the job performance of the sufferer. “It’s not enough to be able to sit at your computer excited about a fantastic regression analysis if you’re squeamish about presenting those results to an executive group”, said one senior manager at Eastman Kodak. Ironically, its OK to be squeamish about doing regression analysis if you are excited about giving speeches, as Cain pointed out.

Introverts have always been unfairly treated for their “unenthusiastic energy” or that introversion are often seen in a negative light. There is roughly an equal distribution of #both personality types, but how come extroverts always the desirable ones?# We can conclude from the theory of evolution–the strong survive and the weak cease to exist–that introverts have their own unique capabilities that put them in a unique advantage#.