If you’ve been wondering what introvertism is, you’re not alone. Introvertism is the same as introversion, which comes from the root word, ‘introvert’.
Contrary to popular opinion, Introvertism is not shyness. Introverts are also not necessarily antisocial. It’s a personality trait that allows people to rely on internal rather than external stimulation.
Introverts make up about 25-40% of the global population, which means that they have more extroverts to contend with.
There is no doubt that our world is tailored to extroversion. Most of the traits that are globally acceptable are extroverted in nature. In most cases, introverts have to force themselves out of their shell to fit in, like staying long at social events, networking, starting conversations, being the center of attention, etc.
How do you know you’re an introvert? Here are the 10 most common ways.
Introvertism: How do you know you’re an Introvert?
You value your alone time
The major difference between introverts and extroverts is their source of energy. Introverts get drained during social interactions, so they love spending time by themselves to recharge their batteries. The typical introvert has no problem spending their Friday night at home watching a movie on Netflix while the entire city is partying.
Extroverts, on the other hand, are the complete opposite. They gain energy through social interactions. Typical extroverts spend more time with other people than they spend by themselves.
They don’t feel comfortable when they spend too much time by themselves without any form of social interaction.
You hate small talk
In a world that constantly encourages social interaction and networking, small talk often serves as a good conversation starter. However, introverts detest small talk.
They don’t want to talk about the weather or their place of origin. This is why they tend to listen more because they get bored in those conversations. Introverts are also not likely to engage in office drama or gossip. It wears them out.
If you’ve probably pretended to be on a phone call, stayed longer on the road, or started chatting on your phone to avoid greeting people, then you’re most likely an introvert.
Introvertism: You prefer deep and meaningful conversations
Introverts rather spend their time talking about deep and meaningful things, instead of small talk. The mind of a typical introvert is always thinking about things and searching for new ideas and concepts, so they love conversations that spark their interest or teach them something new.
Also, introverts prefer deep one-on-one conversations to speaking to a large crowd, even though most of the world’s best public speakers are introverts. Talking to one person about something that interests them for hours allows them to exchange ideas and make sense of what goes on in their heads.
Socialization drains you
The popular misconception is that introverts are anti-social or prefer to shut people out. That’s wrong. On the contrary, most introverts have very close-knit friendships and socialize just as much as extroverts do.
However, there is a limit to how much social interaction they can tolerate.
Have you ever been at a social event for an hour and just shut down? You look for a quiet corner, stop conversing with people, reply with one word or short phrase, and start using your phone. In worse cases, you leave the event.
You do this because your social battery has gone down, and you need to recharge it through solitude.
You’re a good listener
Do you enjoy listening to other people more than talking? You’re most likely an introvert. Introverts prefer to listen to conversations, especially when they’re engaging in involuntary small talk. They can listen to the extrovert go on and on about the little things.
Listening comes naturally to you because you spend more listen observing and processing things in your head, as opposed to extroverts that process information by talking out loud. They value understanding people over being understood.
Introverts are not likely to intrude or interrupt conversations abruptly to say their minds. They often allow the other person to speak before they say a word.
Introvertism: You don’t have a lot of friends
Introverts are usually very quiet and reserved people. They don’t thrive in social settings as much as extroverts do, so they don’t make a lot of friends. If you’re observant, you’d notice that most introverts have had friendships of more than 8+ years, sometimes from childhood or high school days.
They may not necessarily find it hard to make friends, but it’s often easier to stick to or relate with people you already know.
You have a sharp focus
Most introverts can focus on one thing for a long time, except they’re battling with disorders like ADHD and ADD. Once introverts find out what they enjoy doing or have a sense of duty towards that thing, they can focus on it for hours.
It has to be something they can zone out in and explore concepts in their head as they do it.
Once they get engrossed in their work, it might be hard to get them out of it.
You’ve been called “too serious”
Most introverts have been called too serious or intense because of their dislike of small talk or mundane concepts. They are deep thinkers who enjoy seeing things beyond the surface. When people say things that have no relevance or deep meaning, they get agitated. When someone tries to distract them from their work with some meaningless thing, they get extremely upset.
They’d rather sit by the beach with someone discussing philosophical concepts or simply having honest and vulnerable conversations about life than engage in irrelevant things.
You hate being in the spotlight
Most introverts are very hardworking people, but they hate being in the spotlight unless they absolutely have to. Some people will rather work in supporting roles than as the main person just so that they will not be noticed, even though they have better qualifications.
If you prefer calling someone aside to have a one-on-one conversation than speak up your mind in a room filled with people, you’re most likely an introvert.
You have phone call anxiety… a lot!
Introverts have one bad habit in common- they can watch their phone continuously ring and not answer because they’re not in the mood to talk. Their hearts skip a beat when an unexpected call comes in. It’s called phone call anxiety. They prefer texting their friends or chatting with them than calling (or receiving calls). Why do they do this?
Writing or texting helps them helps to think and organize their thoughts before putting them out there. There is little to no pressure on what to say when texting than talking to people physically.
