[alexvy86]

The second and third sentences are reasonable; yes, we should all try to step out of our comfort zones every now and then. But I vehemently disagree with the first sentence. I have no scientific studies or similar sources to back up my views, but I've read several articles that very accurately describe the way I feel about this topic. For introverts (and I count myself here) social interaction is for the most part an energy drain, while for extroverts it's an energy source. There's people that cannot stand the idea of staying home on a Friday night and would actually feel down if they did. They crave social interaction, loud places, being around people even if they don't know them. And there's other people who cannot stand the idea of going to a club and party until [whatever time] in the morning. Loud places, crowded places, forced conversations, just suck away our energy, they don't make us "feel alive" or anything of that sort. So we stay home and read books, or attend small social gatherings with our close friends.

To summarize: in general, extroverts get energy from social interaction, and introverts lose energy in them.

[zzalpha]

A dichotomy is a claim that someone or something is either A or B, and it can only be A or B and not something in between.

With that definition in mind:

To summarize: in general, extroverts get energy from social interaction, and introverts lose energy in them.

There is no evidence that extraversion/introversion is a hard delineation. In fact, in my other comment I already cited studies that demonstrate the opposite, that it is a continuum and people are on different places on that continuum, sometimes day to day or hour to hour.

You may find this surprising, but sometimes I love parties, and sometimes I hate them! Sometimes I really want to be around people, and sometimes I want nothing more than to be alone for a while. Sometimes I really want to listen to loud, banging music! Sometimes, I would rather be in a quiet room with a book.

Step back and ask yourself: Are you really as consistently and persistently introverted as you claim? Because I'll bet you a large sum of money that, if you're being honest with yourself, the answer is a lot more nuanced than that.

To be honest, I find this entire trend interesting. On the one had, there's a strong movement that is driving a change in the perception of things like gender and sexual attraction as being on a continuum, based on the realization that humans are, in fact, complex, diverse creatures.

And yet, at the same time, we seem driven to slot people into these fixed personality types so we can all walk around with our "introvert" or "extravert" badge or brag about our Myers-Briggs personality type.

It's really baffling... it's like people both want to label themselves, and at the same time defy labels.

[alexvy86]

Ok, I do agree that it's not a black/white thing, it's a spectrum. If that was the point you were trying to make, then we're on the same page. In my personal case, I think I am pretty consistent on where I am in that spectrum. I might wiggle a bit, but it's more like measurement noise, not swings up and down from one end to the other. For example, I just can't recall the last time I genuinely enjoyed a big event with tons of people.

To your point about labels, I guess some people do label themselves in an "exclusively A or exclusively B" manner, but I think there's also a lot who say "I'm an introvert/extrovert" as short hand for "I'm on that end of the spectrum", it's just more convenient, if technically a bit unclearer.

[ionised]

I don't think anyone is suggesting it is binary.