Introverts and the Social Media
It would be no less than a catastrophe if suddenly all the social media apps were to disappear from our phones.
Just imagine if that is the case. Well, leave that. I am not here to talk about social media in general, but about introverts and weighting the pros and cons the effect social media has on them.
As we all know, introverts are those who prefer time alone than interacting with others and are often regarded as undesirable in the contemporary society.
But the introvert-extrovert classification is not so plain. It is just not possible to classify a person as an introvert and leave it at that. Most people should be put under the term ambivert. In most cases one tends to be closer towards one of the pole’s ends. Though I would classify myself as an introvert, but more appropriate term will be ambivert, leaning a bit too much upon introversion.
Well, let's move forward towards what I really want to speak here. According to social reactivity theory, all humans, whether they like it or not, are required to participate in social activities. Otherwise, why humans are called social animals? (don’t get irked by the word ‘animal’, but we are animals biologically, if not worse literally) Therefore, though introverts are energized more by their internal world (introversion), there is always some need to communicate during various life situations. And here comes social media and open the doors to fulfill that need.
Taking my case, I think social media has made life a hell lot easier. When I require to communicate with someone, I find it is difficult to approach them if I don’t know them well. But in the age of social media, all I need to do is tap a bit on the phone screen and send a text. Ah, so easy! And definitely I am not afraid to text, and I do feel sometimes that I have good texting skills, rather than adequate social skills. All I need to do is to find that person in one of the various social media platforms available, after which, it’s no big deal. Be it class notes, homework, reports etc., my need to communicate is fulfilled. If I want to get some notes from someone, instead of physically approaching them, I would find virtual communication more feasible. The same goes for sharing ideas and thoughts. One more reason for easier life is that introverts generally prefer to be analytical before speaking. I always think and decide before speaking (if possible) what to talk about and which are the words I can’t afford to overlook during the conversation. But now, I can always read a text and rectify errors in it before hitting the send button.
Now, is that a problem? As I have stated above, social media has largely replaced the requirement of physical (and actual) communication between people. Though introverts like me will welcome it, but I don’t think virtual interaction is ideal. (Though in the pandemic, it’s the right way but let us limit ourselves to the times both post and pre pandemic!)
Talking from my experience, I noticed in current era, I felt the need to be more social. Of course, it's good to interact. Consequently, I began to use these apps more and more, sending many hours from every 24 hours down the drain. Now, that’s definitely bad as I could have put those time to proper utilization, such as pursuing my hobbies. Moreover, I feel it's quite cool to be more active on social media, which is wrong too. No one will recall some stupid texting session some months later (or weeks and for some, ‘days’ will be more appropriate). I will forget who liked my post the next day. Much of the virtual interaction memory is temporary and of no use in life. No doubt, I am wasting hours without reaping anything valuable.
Though apparently social media made life of introverts a bit easier, but I do feel it made them pay some amount of price. Valuable and fulfilling human connections aren’t and cannot be made. We can share our thoughts and feelings online without reflecting any emotions, which is not so during real interaction, and thus, is not natural. And which isn’t natural, generally has a dark side.
So, to conclude, social media didn’t fulfill the need of introverts without causing them some harm. How it has affected me and will affect me in the long run I can’t tell presently, except lamenting that I killed time, got my screen time increased and as a reward, ended getting my attention span highly shortened.
Thank you for reading!
