Are Extroverts Becoming More Rare?
Random shower thoughts by an amateur thinker.
Here I am, sitting on my couch on a sunny Sunday afternoon when a thought struck me: There’s no one outside.
I live in a big neighborhood, attached to an even bigger rival neighborhood. Where are all the people?
While I wouldn’t count this as the number of introverts increasing versus extroverts, it really did get me thinking.
I believe in an age where we are able to find information at home, have our groceries delivered, work from home, get our entertainment from home (and more), people are more apt to stay indoors, make friends with themselves or their families, and just not take the effort to go out as much anymore. People are getting comfortable in their own homes to the point where going out to run a quick errand has become somewhat of a chore.
I'm not going to discount the absolute nuances of what it means to be extroverted versus introverted because there are very real psychological components to that. However, what I will mention is that because we can access most things from the comfort of home, a good volume of people are starting to get used to that, including myself. In turn, they are going out less and less and starting to get used to the hollow sounds of empty walls and the white noise of streaming videos and music. Plus, the outside can be… loud.
Of course, I attribute a lot of this way of thinking to the mandates of 2020 through 2022, where we had no choice but to distance ourselves from families and society. So much so that we got used to it.
I'll be frank, I'm not innocent. I used to be wildly extroverted when I was younger, but in my older age, it's become more of a chore to maintain friendships. And to be honest? It’s getting increasingly hard to please people because everyone is so offended these days, and sensitivity has skyrocketed. Additionally, before the mandates, there was also the “Me Too” movement that sprouted out of excellent intentions and spiraled into walking on eggshells due to the explosion of false accusations.
Anyway, back to the actual perceived shift in thinking…
On the website, High 5 Test, there is a landing page Introvert Vs Extrovert: Facts & Differences [Comparison Guide], and the very bottom of the page struck my interest:
What is an Omnivert?
An omnivert is neither an introvert nor an extrovert. They combine certain qualities of introversion with other qualities of extroversion.
If you feel like you are neither an introvert nor an extrovert, you may be an omnivert. Omniverts are individuals who switch between being introverts and extroverts depending on the situation
What is an ambivert person?
An ambivert is extremely similar to an omnivert. They are also blends of introversion and extroversion (omnivert and ambivert are used interchangeably, but ambiverts are a blend of introvert and extrovert, which omniverts are one type depending on the situation).
If you feel like being extroverted when you know someone but introverted when you meet a stranger, you could be an ambivert.
Based on the information here, I wonder if we are becoming more like omniverts or ambiverts, with a heavier emphasis on the introverted spectrum?
I myself always considered myself a mixture of both, but lately, I’ve been taking comfort in the deep darkness of my own shell. Granted, I’ve made major changes in the last year that thrust my career on a completely different path, so that could be a contingency in my personal change.
However, that doesn’t account for the increasing complaints that I hear from others about how they would rather just “stay at home” or that they “hate people”. I’ve also seen growing reports on social media platforms of “Introverts are people too” or “Introverts are just as important”… Yes, they are, but why the growing sentiment?
Here’s another thought: Are we naturally more extroverted as children and young adults? I’ve witnessed many extroverted kids develop into introverted adults. Maybe it’s more noticeable now that the children of Boomers (GenX, Millenials) are adults.
I’m not an expert in psychology by any means, but I am a pro at observation, and I tend to hypothesize from there. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
Are we becoming more introverted?
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