Are you extroverted or introverted?

[Bahamut240]

I lean pretty heavily towards being an extrovert, and I suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder too (thats a fun one to explain.) Now I prefer one on one or small groups to large ones, but if I could, I would spend almost all my time with people. That being said, I spent most my life as an introvert, and it just wasn't as productive as I wanted it to be.

[k-a-t-e]

The extroverts really are outnumbered here, aren't they?

I've read that one of the defining bits to tell whether you're introverted/extroverted is how you "recharge". For myself, if I'm quiet or alone too long I become tired and blah blah blah, yet when I'm around people and crowds I get really energized and happy. So that and other things leads me to believe I'm an extrovert (let me just add to that 6% total)!

and yes, I am a person of many contrasts and a walking contradiction (I ain't a Gemini for nothing!) I am an extrovert with S.A.D. as well. Now that's really got to be a minority!

[Ziffler]

I am extremely introverted,

BUT

Has taught himself to be extroverted.

Most people around me will tell you that I am extroverted, because through out my life I HAD to do social things. Give reports, guide people, socialive and greet people. So I have become good at it, but inside I am still introverted and I HAVE to get away from people ever so often or go crazy.

[articvibe]

Introverted but thats what they invented alchol "ye olde dutch courage" lol that gets me out and about fairly fast

[House of Chimeras]

As a little kid I used to be very extroverted. But then while I was still fairly little I became extremely introverted. As grew-up and went though junior high and high school I slowly grew out of being overly introverted. I’m still an introvert but I can act really extroverted when I want to or am comfortable with the people I’m around.

[Matt]

Introverted.

I can swing into a sort of half-extrovert mode, but that is governed my a number of factors way to complex for me to be bothered to explain.

[sakura_alice]

I'm pretty introverted normally, though at work I have to be more extroverted which can be tiring for me, lol. but I do my best ^_^

[wordgeek]

Here you go, yet another introvert, ISTJ according to Myers-Briggs!!

[Lekzýs]

Introverted. Very much so.

[Faye]

I'm an introvert who can fake being an extrovert when I absolutely have to!

(Like new week when I beggin uni!)

[Blerdivor]

I've always been extremely introverted. But I put on this very extroverted face. I'm usually the clown, the loud one, the silly one who makes jokes and puts on a show for everyone. But I have a lot of trouble socializing and chatting with people. I also have a very poor ability to judge what's acceptable to say. And I learned that if I'm a clown, people don't take as much offense to all of my faux pas.

[kt8]

I voted "introverted" because for most of my life, I was THE most introverted person ever. But it seems like, over the years, I have steadily been opening up, starting with high school, and now, in college, I would almost call myself extroverted, at times. It really depends. I'm not really the party type, but I love doing things with people, like hiking or going to the beach or goings to events like shows. But, if I can't find anyone to go with, then I go by myself. I can be introverted OR extroverted. But extroversion isn't my natural state, so much.

Even when I'm socializing, I tend to be the person in the corner listening to everyone else talking, so... yeah. ;)

[articvibe]

probably intorverted i have no problem with people or partying i find them quite entertaining but i need a little nudge to actually "get" there ^^'

[mad_scientist]

I'm hesitant to answer because the definitions vary so widely.

On the behaviour-based definition (where an extrovert is somebody who is resonably comfortable in crowds and noisy/boistrous, an introvert is quiet and shy) I'm an extrovert. I don't like this system because behaviour is influenced by a lot of confusing variable -- shy extroverts, for instance, behave like introverts except around good friends, and people can dislike crowds but be in situations where they're pressured into them a lot behave like extroverts (like me; I don't like big groups at all and am uncomfortable around strangers, but I grew up around partly-deaf people and overcompensate for my shyness).

On the perspective-based definition (an extrovert relates to the world around them, they communicate a lot and their moods and state of mind are primarily influenced by external stimuli; an introvert's perspective is more inward-facing, they daydream a lot and their moods and state of mind are primarily influenced by internal factors) I'm an introvert.

I tend to think of myself as an "introvert performer" who automatically puts on an "outgoing" mask under extreme social pressure.

[chrysalide]

I tend to be somewhere in-between introverted and extraverted, but I'll say I'm leaning more on the extraverted side.

[sunny_girl]

I'm very, very, very extroverted. Sometimes people tell me that I come across as intimidating because of it. |:

...there are so many introverts here! ;o;

[Princely One]

I'm not sure of the name of the book atm, but it's written by a well-known introverted psychologist... and has pictures of the human brain and the genes for introversion/extroversion. Descriptions of the traits between the two are REALLY obvious as it's more that simply a personality type with variations. Being extroverted/introverted is a brain temperament down to DNA (and the woman who wrote the book is not the only one who agrees with this). Really great book.

I, of course, am introverted and loving it. I don't have any social impairments or anything, I just really prefer to be alone and will explode pretty fast if people bother me. I have very little patience with humans (it's not a Elitist statement- it is simply the truth and if you really knew me, you'd understand) and am working on what I say to people. I've been known to say maybe three words after being silent for a very long time, thus being misunderstood, and kind of going off that nobody appreciates what I said- especially since most of what I say is in an activist capacity and so well-thought about and planned that I end up feeling like I wasted my time.

<-- me when I see a person.

<-- me when they notice me.

<_< <-- me when I realise humanity exists. (I do react negatively when too many people "get in my space".)

[Dara_Effe']

I'm fairly introverted. :)

[drnick]

The poll results are interesting - obviously it's a self-selecting sample, and it's hardly surprising that a 93% of people communicating on the internet consider themselves to be introverted.

When I was at Sixth Form College (equivalent to the last two years of a US High School) I remember in one lesson we completed a questionnaire on this topic (it was a sort of personal development class). It was possible to score from -20 (completely extrovert) to +20 (completely introverted). Most people were somewhere in the middle and at a most a few points either way. I scored +19. And while I think those sorts of tests are generally unscientific nonsense this one was probably more or less right.

Maybe this explains why at quarter to five on a Sunday afternoon I am sat listening to Choral Evensong on Radio 3 and messing around on the internet.

[Rappy28]

Wow, the poll results.

I wonder how much of it is due to the internet phenomena, and how much to asexuality.

[Nyxity]

GRR!!!! My post is gone!

I'm introverted. When manic/excited though, I can be very extroverted.

[Guest]

I see my post got lost to the darkness here too....

Introverted or very introverted much of the time, but not completely/always.

[Sally]

I can go back to being introverted now that AVEN is up again. :lol: (Those days having to actually talk with people were brutal.)

[outofeden]

I'm an introvert.

When I was little I was very shy and I wouldn't talk to anyone because I was afraid of people. I got over the fear, but I still don't like talking to people. I can do it, I can act really sociable if I have to, but it's all an act and it makes me feel horrible and exhausted.

One time I wrote in my journal that I wouldn't mind dying alone, and my relatives read it and got kind of freaked out.

[Porygon]

I'm generally very introverted, even timid. Around friends I'm crazy though. :P

[20thCenturyGirl]

I voted introverted also. I don't have a problem with it if I know what I'm supposed to say or do, but in a new situation... I have a lot of trouble. I often can't even walk into a room first when I'm walking in a group. Euuggh, it's awful.

[Figleaf]

I'm extremely introverted. I have great social skills, but I just don't like to use them very often. Most people simply bore and exhaust me with their incessant, meaningless small talk, so I can't wait to be alone again and find something more intriguing to occupy myself with. Introverts, unless they are shy, are usually very good at socializing and playing the part of an extrovert, and are perfectly willing to do it when the mood strikes them. It's not that they aren't capable of interacting comfortably and skillfully with others, but it's just that they only enjoy it within limits and not for very long, otherwise it starts to take a toll on their energy and they need to get away for some quiet time.

I think a good point has been brought up here, which is that the internet in general, and especially forums, are dominated by introverts, so it's difficult to know whether introversion is strongly correlated with asexuality, or if the numbers are simply reflecting the fact that this is the internet.

I voted introverted also. I don't have a problem with it if I know what I'm supposed to say or do, but in a new situation... I have a lot of trouble. I often can't even walk into a room first when I'm walking in a group. Euuggh, it's awful.

What you are describing is shyness or social anxiety, which is not a problem for all introverts. I have no problem walking into a room first or that sort of thing. That must be stressful.

[Figleaf]

I'm not sure of the name of the book atm, but it's written by a well-known introverted psychologist... and has pictures of the human brain and the genes for introversion/extroversion. Descriptions of the traits between the two are REALLY obvious as it's more that simply a personality type with variations. Being extroverted/introverted is a brain temperament down to DNA (and the woman who wrote the book is not the only one who agrees with this).

Yes, this is very true. There is quite a bit of scientific evidence that proves there is a difference in the brains of introverts and extroverts, and that it has a basis in genetics. It's most definitely much more than a personality type, although it is helpful to include this aspect of temperament as part of personality profiles and assessments. As with asexuals, introverts are in the minority within the general population, and extreme introverts are even rarer. We are often very misunderstood by extroverts, who are completely perplexed by us and tend to be very critical and judgmental.

[snufflebottoms]

You forgot ambivert, which is in the middle. :P I went with extraavert b/c thats what my myers-briggs type is. ENFP

[mindsword]

I describe myself as a raging introvert. I can function fine in society, but crowds drain my battery like crazy. I need to be alone at least a couple of hours everyday just to read or play computer or something.

ISTJ, your exact opposite, Lady Snufflebottoms.