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This is a very subjective statement. The pandemic has been bar none the best period of my life. Increased physical and social distance from other people, no nee

This is a very subjective statement. The pandemic has been bar none the best period of my life. Increased physical and social distance from other people, no need to emote in public thanks to masks, no need to commute, greater accommodation for non-social options like self-checkouts. My physical and mental health have skyrocketed, and as a result I feel like I've been on vacation for a year and half, despite only taking about 3 days of vacation the entire time and starting a new and more intense job. Those of you who have found the slightly over a year duration of the pandemic difficult have gotten a sample of how miserable pre-pandemic life was for those of us who are more introverted or misanthropic.

shmel 5y ago
I keep hearing this over and over. I get it, some people are fairly introverted, some really enjoy WFH. But what stopped you from distancing from people and using self-checkouts before the pandemic? If you hate people, fine, just go home straight after work, you aren't obligated to hang out with anyone. It is not like the government would fine you for coming home before 11pm, right?
- geerlingguy 5y ago
  Not speaking to the other points, but I did notice many stores completely reconfigured the checkouts in my area; before the pandemic there were few very tiny self checkout stalls, and there was always a long line of people with just a few items. Now almost all the aisles are self-checkout and are friendlier to larger cart-fulls like I buy (having a few kids means there's no such thing as a quick trip with a hand basket anymore...).
- zerkten 5y ago
  > But what stopped you from distancing from people and using self-checkouts before the pandemic? This was not uniformly accepted behaviour. Yes, some people could find roles and a situation where this was possible before, but most couldn't. Stores didn't really optimize for a self-check out experience. The social pressure in many organizations and communities to conform was high and there was no escape. If you you wanted to work at a tech company or startup you would have to accept open offices, happy hours, and other social requires to a great extent. It was not acceptable to skip many events and you had no option to switch your working environment in the office because the only option was open space. The pandemic has forced a change, most importantly, in a relatively uniform manner. I'm not making the argument that we should all accept this other extreme. Just as we return to normality we should consider the experiences of others, and try to make some reasonable adaptations.
- thrower123 5y ago
  It's a third of my life, half of my waking hours, that I'm forced to be in a box, dealing with people I wouldn't choose to breath the same air as, pretending to be interested in their small-talk.
  - NateEag 5y ago
    If you're working this job and you started it in the office, you actually chose to breathe the same air as the coworkers you seem to so dislike. Saying otherwise is deceiving yourself. No one is forcing you to pretend interest in small talk. If you're not interested in it, say so instead of pretending. Are you afraid you'll lose your job over being antisocial or rude if you don't pretend to get along with your coworkers? You might be happier if you look for a job you don't hate. (Also if you stop seeing other people as beneath you, but that's a taller order)
  - kaesar14 5y ago
    You voluntarily signed up to do the job.
    - silicon2401 5y ago
      By your argument, many people also voluntarily chose to stay home. Plenty of people continued flying, going on spring break, going to clubs, etc throughout the pandemic if there were no legal lockdowns.
- silicon2401 5y ago
  If you're a normal person who understands consequences and social interactions, you also understand that not playing social games comes at a cost. As you said yourself: > just go home straight after work In your own hypothetical example, I'm still required to be in an office or else be jobless. Finding remote jobs isn't trivial.
aantix 5y ago
Why is having to partake in your misery a good thing? The large majority connect via smiles, laughs, hugs.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Kiro 5y ago
  It's an unnecessary and superficial conditioning that we need to evolve beyond. Do we want to be cavemen or cybernetic organisms?
  - aantix 5y ago
    Or it’s a biological dependency. “While most of the early studies were on children residing in orphanages that were deficient in almost every dimension, even children who are reared in relatively good orphanages but who are subject to social and emotional neglect display many of these characteristics while living in the institution” The effects of early social-emotional and relationship experience on the development of young orphanage children :: Atypical Behaviors https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702123/#:~:text=Gavrin%20%26%20Sacks%2C%201963).-,Atypical%20Behaviors,-Children%20living%20in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702123/#:~:tex...
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - dta5003 5y ago
    Lucky for you, it's going to be the future soon: https://open.spotify.com/track/2chEZfdAqJvlw9dM3hAU6p?si=c8f01b6205534547 https://open.spotify.com/track/2chEZfdAqJvlw9dM3hAU6p?si=c8f...
hh3k0 5y ago
> no need to emote in public thanks to masks I will miss that. I liked not being told that I look angry or that I should smile sometimes.
- bin_bash 5y ago
  I’m curious, are you female? I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that unless I was unbelievably angry. Like maybe once or twice in my entire adult life.
  - CharlesW 5y ago
    Speaking from personal experience, this happens to male humans as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resting_bitch_face https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resting_bitch_face: "Using a type of facial recognition system, they found that the phenomenon is real and the condition is as common in males as in females, despite the gendered word bitch that is used to name the concept."
    - coredog64 5y ago
      Resting Jerk Face is gender neutral.
  - LandR 5y ago
    I get asked quite often if I'm angry, grumpy, down, "what's wrong?" even when I'm absolutely fine and none of those things. I was even stopped by a random stranger in a supermarket once and they asked if I was OK... I said I was fine, and then she asked if it had been a long day... erm. Guess it's just my face. I remember in the supermarket I was actually just thinking about if a man could beat a giraffe in a fight.
    - WJW 5y ago
      With technological help like guns, obviously the man wins. Without technology but with enough preparation, humans probably still win because they could rig up traps and whatnot. Straight up the giraffe would wreck a humans because they can kick really hard with their long legs.
crowbahr 5y ago
I've been WFH for 4 years now and thoroughly enjoy it. I enjoy isolation, I love the intensity of coding that I can get done. I'm generally more introverted. That doesn't make the pandemic fun and rainbows. It's still been psychologically the most difficult time for me because I live in NYC. Walking the dog twice a day on ghost streets empty of any pedestrians, devoid of the hum of traffic and hearing nothing but the wails of every ambulance in the area for the better part of a month was deeply disturbing in a way I still haven't come to terms with. Rubbing down the door knob with bleach. Double masking and surgical gloving when going to the bodega on the block for fruit. A real and valid fear of death and maiming for multiple months isn't something you just bounce back from. So yes: It's a subjective statement. However it's not like just being an introvert made the pandemic a walk in the park. Don't mistake your experience as speaking for all introverts.
- DrBazza 5y ago
  > Rubbing down the door knob with bleach. This article [1] implies the chance of catching COVID-19 from contact surfaces is 1 in 10,000 *at best* under lab conditions, and negligible at best. You're more likely to be struck by lightning or hit by a car. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-r...
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    The funny thing is bleach is what you need to stop noro and rota viruses, and those are actually very transmissible via surfaces, yet the protocol at my kids’ daycare (national chain) does not involve bleaching door knobs on the regular. The same daycare that 2 weeks ago had an outbreak of noro or rotavirus which caused entire classes of toddlers to be infected and go home and vomit for a day and was spread to siblings and parents at home. But they are still sanitizing pens. People’s risk profiles are crazy, and there is an insane amount of cover your ass for PR purposes.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
somethingabo 5y ago
I’m not sure if comparing introverted life to a pandemic where people’s friends and families are dying alone in a hospital is a good comparison.
- silicon2401 5y ago
  I'm strictly talking about the day to day circumstances of distancing, masks, etc, not illness or death of loved ones as that's obviously an unpleasant thing at any time.
ianai 5y ago
Agree. I’ve suffered levels of abuse far too many times simply because someone misread my facial expressions professionally/personally. My school bullies would examine my expressions intimately and the “lessons” they instilled on me through my basic desire to not give them something to read stand to this day. Having a simple block over my face has been downright comforting. And frankly I’m not missing the everyday exposures to allergens nor anything else in the air.
cashewchoo 5y ago
I think it's very fair and valid for you to feel however you want with regards to shelter-in-place/wfh/lockdown, but to me it seems somewhat unconscionable to be smug like enjoying your time alone is a huge win against extroverts. I feel like it's a pretty ridiculous over-statement to say that introverts feel like they're in a pandemic normally. I'm an introvert and don't feel like that. I suspect the only people who could reasonably feel like that are people with anxiety disorders or phobias. I don't know, I'm not saying you can't express your opinion or feel how you feel. But I want to express I'm a bit grossed out reading your post, as you seem just a bit too gleeful and smug at this whole situation.
- ianai 5y ago
  I think you’re being overly reactive to the OP. Glee would be a lot more blatant and celebratory of the misfortune of others. I don’t think that’s their point. Not mine anyway. I’m pushing back on the sentiment you pose because it’s far too often used and oppressively effective.
  - kaesar14 5y ago
    It seems OP is quite gratified at the rest of us having gotten "... a sample of how miserable pre-pandemic life was for those of us who are more introverted or misanthropic." when even as mostly an introvert this pandemic has been more than the typical anxiety of having to interact with others when I didn't want to.
    - silicon2401 5y ago
      I'll copy another comment I made for convenience. Please tell me where I expressed any glee at other people's misfortunes. What I said was the following which is a statement, not an expression of emotion: > Those of you who have found the slightly over a year duration of the pandemic difficult have gotten a sample of how miserable pre-pandemic life was for those of us who are more introverted or misanthropic. How other people feel doesn't impact me, but I do hope that people who have not enjoyed lockdown can gain some empathy for the people who have enjoyed lockdown. Pre-pandemic life was as uncaring and dismissive of people who thrive during the pandemic as pandemic life is towards people who thrived before the pandemic.
SketchySeaBeast 5y ago
I'm an extreme introvert as well, my wife is all the social interaction I require, and I'm a giant homebody, but I'm still super tired. Work wise I've been under pressure for a fair bit this year and there were no experiences to balance it out with. I miss a lot of small indulgences - quiet brunches on a Wednesday morning or going to get coffee. I may even miss the movie theater occasionally. I certainly don't miss working from the office, but I miss the variety of downtime. A camel doesn't often need water, but they still need it.
- gsibble 5y ago
  This is basically how I feel. I'm an introvert and I'm exhausted and need a break. Being an introvert does not necessarily mean I like sitting in my small apartment all day with a roommate for months on end. I need a vacation.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- silicon2401 5y ago
  Perhaps you're not as extreme as you think, or perhaps I'm more extreme than most. I didn't miss movie theaters, eating out, driving, museums, malls, nothing. I have been able to stay in great shape with weights at home and biking, get more than enough socialization with my partner, and have plenty of hobbies that don't require interaction with or proximity to other people. There's a reason that my life goal is to escape into hermitude: I have zero interest in being around or seeing other humans unless they're loved ones.
  - SketchySeaBeast 5y ago
    Yeah, I don't care to see the people, my wife is enough for me, but I want a change and new experiences. Not even to travel, but to take some time and recover. Eat some food I don't usually eat, experience some things I haven't felt good about for the last year and a bit.
DrBazza 5y ago
> Increased physical and social distance from other people I believe for many people, this is more because "everyone else does it" and the general "miserable office atmosphere" in our industry. I'm not accusing the OP of anything by the way. I would have said that I was in the group of "you've said hello, that's enough social contact for one day", yet after 15 months, at least according to friends and family, I'm more friendly, more sociable, and more outgoing. I think really for a lot of people that are enjoying WFH for the last 15 months, what they're really enjoying, myself included is not sitting 2 feet from someone who is not family, that talks, fidgets, coughs, sniffs, slurps, and eats food at their desk 3 times a day, and being in an open plan office with 10-100 other people.
- TechBro8615 5y ago
  As a (currently, sort of) introvert, I agree with both you and the parent. I also had a great time during the pandemic. But I was behaving exactly as I was before, when I was depressed. The difference is that now everyone else – even celebrities and Instagram party girls – were suddenly living my lifestyle, and that gave me a sense of comfort. It meant that I no longer felt like I was letting the world pass me by, because the world stopped. But now it’s back on again, frankly, that feeling is coming back. It was nice while it lasted, but that’s clearly not sustainable for anyone.
  - DrBazza 5y ago
    I'm "old" by the standards on here, in fact retirement isn't too far away if I want it, and I'm genuinely intrigued by how my personality is going to change once I'm no longer working. I see the last 15 months or so as a trial run, and it's been great. I'm dreading going to back to the office if I'm honest.
ramesh31 5y ago
I've never been so envious of happily married people in my life. Being single throughout this ordeal has broken me mentally, particularly at an age (31) where I'm staring down the last couple years of being able to meet someone my age. And the prospects coming out of it are grim. For people with a happy home life, this may have been a good time. But for the isolated, work from home, single people with no long term social circle outside of work, it has been an utter nightmare.
- deleted 5y ago
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- golergka 5y ago
  > particularly at an age (31) where I'm staring down the last couple years of being able to meet someone What? I'm 33, only a few months into my current relationship, and I have to say that dating is so much better at this age than it ever was.
  - ramesh31 5y ago
    >I'm 33, only a few months into my current relationship, and I have to say that dating is so much better at this age than it ever was. You can get lucky. There are certainly unicorns out there. Or you can date younger, if you're ok with that. But by and large, women and men work on different timelines. And you don't realize this as a man until it hits. The vast majority of women are out of the dating pool by 30. And by this age, you've both ossified into separate individuals with rigid expectations and assumptions about life, which makes the flexibility needed to build a real lasting connection infinitely harder.
    - philangist 5y ago
      Why wouldn't you date someone younger? At 31 assuming you have your life reasonably together and aren't living in some rural area (or san francisco lol) you can definitely meet attractive and interesting women 25+ that would be interested in settling down on your timeframe. Dating is all about self fulfilling prophecies so if you're telling yourself there are no women available that's what you're going to manifest.
jcadam 5y ago
Yep, As my company slowly starts going back to the office, I decided to move to a remote/rural area because I wasn't willing to go back into an office everyday. I expected to have to find a new job, but my current employer offered to let me continue remotely, so I suppose it has worked out.
- A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
  I am jelaous. My company has a stated goal of going back to its old ways. I requested basically hybrid mode ( one day in office a week ) to show I am a team player, but it is clear remote is reserved for favorites..
  - jcadam 5y ago
    Perhaps I'm a favorite... for now - my company is getting acquired, so I may be on the job hunt soon anyway.
crispyambulance 5y ago
Being an introvert does NOT mean having unreadable or negative "resting face" expressions, nor does it mean dreading routine interaction with other humans, and it ESPECIALLY is not anything like "misanthropic". What some of you people are describing sound more like autism or some kinds of personality disorders. That's very different from introversion--- which roughly half of the population could be categorized as.
- silicon2401 5y ago
  How do you define misanthropy? A quick google search says the following: "Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or contempt of the human species, human behavior or human nature." That applies to me, which is why I dislike being around people that aren't loved ones, and why I've enjoyed the lockdown world where extra systems have emerged to keep people away from me. People with autism may or may not feel similarly, I can't say. I don't have problems socializing, I just dislike people.
sunshineforever 5y ago
I agree. 2020 was one of the best years of my life.
nchie 5y ago
I don't think this is how most introverts have felt. Introversion doesn't mean you dislike interaction with other people. Like others mentioned, what you're describing doesn't sound like just being introverted, it sounds like ASD or some other personality disorder. Definitely subjective though. I'd say I'm an introvert, and I've made it through ok, but it still very much feels like I lost a year of my life. It's really not been too different from being in prison in the country where I live.
- silicon2401 5y ago
  That's quite callous towards people with autism. Many people with autism very much want to socialize and integrate into society, but have difficulties doing so. I don't have difficulties socializing, I just don't like people (misanthropy) and get drained by socialization (introversion), which is why the pandemic has been a great time for me. Of course by that I mean the circumstances as they have impacted my life, not the health status of people.
MattGaiser 5y ago
I wouldn’t go as far as you, but I agree. Life got stripped of its tedious socially required games.
ryandrake 5y ago
Yea, I kind of cringe when I read the all-hands e-mails from my company that say things like "We know this has been incredibly difficult for all of you..." and "Everyone wants to get back into the office..." Wow, speak for yourself--it's been the best year of my life, and no, I'd rather just stay remote permanently, thankyouverymuch! On the other hand, it gives me a chance to step back and develop some real empathy for everyone else. I recognize that I am blessed, and most people aren't wired like me, and the isolation has been really tough for them. When I interact with people over videoconference, I have to remind myself that this person might very well be suffering to the point of a mental breakdown from all this, and I need to communicate with care and thoughtfulness.
- silicon2401 5y ago
  > On the other hand, it gives me a chance to step back and develop some real empathy for everyone else. I recognize that I am blessed, and most people aren't wired like me, and the isolation has been really tough for them. When I interact with people over videoconference, I have to remind myself that this person might very well be suffering to the point of a mental breakdown from all this, and I need to communicate with care and thoughtfulness. This is what I hope everybody else can come out of the pandemic with: empathy, particularly for people like you and me who have thrived during the pandemic. Unfortunately, I fear you are an exception and people will push to make things just how they were before, as evinced by your email. On the bright side, I think it will at least get a little easier to find remote jobs, etc moving forward.
raydev 5y ago
Good for you! You can continue working while other people take much needed time off.
daybadone 5y ago
I despise you.

shmel 5y ago

I keep hearing this over and over. I get it, some people are fairly introverted, some really enjoy WFH. But what stopped you from distancing from people and using self-checkouts before the pandemic? If you hate people, fine, just go home straight after work, you aren't obligated to hang out with anyone. It is not like the government would fine you for coming home before 11pm, right?

geerlingguy 5y ago
Not speaking to the other points, but I did notice many stores completely reconfigured the checkouts in my area; before the pandemic there were few very tiny self checkout stalls, and there was always a long line of people with just a few items. Now almost all the aisles are self-checkout and are friendlier to larger cart-fulls like I buy (having a few kids means there's no such thing as a quick trip with a hand basket anymore...).
zerkten 5y ago
> But what stopped you from distancing from people and using self-checkouts before the pandemic? This was not uniformly accepted behaviour. Yes, some people could find roles and a situation where this was possible before, but most couldn't. Stores didn't really optimize for a self-check out experience. The social pressure in many organizations and communities to conform was high and there was no escape. If you you wanted to work at a tech company or startup you would have to accept open offices, happy hours, and other social requires to a great extent. It was not acceptable to skip many events and you had no option to switch your working environment in the office because the only option was open space. The pandemic has forced a change, most importantly, in a relatively uniform manner. I'm not making the argument that we should all accept this other extreme. Just as we return to normality we should consider the experiences of others, and try to make some reasonable adaptations.
thrower123 5y ago
It's a third of my life, half of my waking hours, that I'm forced to be in a box, dealing with people I wouldn't choose to breath the same air as, pretending to be interested in their small-talk.
- NateEag 5y ago
  If you're working this job and you started it in the office, you actually chose to breathe the same air as the coworkers you seem to so dislike. Saying otherwise is deceiving yourself. No one is forcing you to pretend interest in small talk. If you're not interested in it, say so instead of pretending. Are you afraid you'll lose your job over being antisocial or rude if you don't pretend to get along with your coworkers? You might be happier if you look for a job you don't hate. (Also if you stop seeing other people as beneath you, but that's a taller order)
- kaesar14 5y ago
  You voluntarily signed up to do the job.
  - silicon2401 5y ago
    By your argument, many people also voluntarily chose to stay home. Plenty of people continued flying, going on spring break, going to clubs, etc throughout the pandemic if there were no legal lockdowns.
silicon2401 5y ago
If you're a normal person who understands consequences and social interactions, you also understand that not playing social games comes at a cost. As you said yourself: > just go home straight after work In your own hypothetical example, I'm still required to be in an office or else be jobless. Finding remote jobs isn't trivial.

aantix 5y ago

Why is having to partake in your misery a good thing? The large majority connect via smiles, laughs, hugs.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Kiro 5y ago
It's an unnecessary and superficial conditioning that we need to evolve beyond. Do we want to be cavemen or cybernetic organisms?
- aantix 5y ago
  Or it’s a biological dependency. “While most of the early studies were on children residing in orphanages that were deficient in almost every dimension, even children who are reared in relatively good orphanages but who are subject to social and emotional neglect display many of these characteristics while living in the institution” The effects of early social-emotional and relationship experience on the development of young orphanage children :: Atypical Behaviors https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702123/#:~:text=Gavrin%20%26%20Sacks%2C%201963).-,Atypical%20Behaviors,-Children%20living%20in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702123/#:~:tex...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- dta5003 5y ago
  Lucky for you, it's going to be the future soon: https://open.spotify.com/track/2chEZfdAqJvlw9dM3hAU6p?si=c8f01b6205534547 https://open.spotify.com/track/2chEZfdAqJvlw9dM3hAU6p?si=c8f...

hh3k0 5y ago

> no need to emote in public thanks to masks I will miss that. I liked not being told that I look angry or that I should smile sometimes.

bin_bash 5y ago
I’m curious, are you female? I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that unless I was unbelievably angry. Like maybe once or twice in my entire adult life.
- CharlesW 5y ago
  Speaking from personal experience, this happens to male humans as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resting_bitch_face https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resting_bitch_face: "Using a type of facial recognition system, they found that the phenomenon is real and the condition is as common in males as in females, despite the gendered word bitch that is used to name the concept."
  - coredog64 5y ago
    Resting Jerk Face is gender neutral.
- LandR 5y ago
  I get asked quite often if I'm angry, grumpy, down, "what's wrong?" even when I'm absolutely fine and none of those things. I was even stopped by a random stranger in a supermarket once and they asked if I was OK... I said I was fine, and then she asked if it had been a long day... erm. Guess it's just my face. I remember in the supermarket I was actually just thinking about if a man could beat a giraffe in a fight.
  - WJW 5y ago
    With technological help like guns, obviously the man wins. Without technology but with enough preparation, humans probably still win because they could rig up traps and whatnot. Straight up the giraffe would wreck a humans because they can kick really hard with their long legs.

crowbahr 5y ago

I've been WFH for 4 years now and thoroughly enjoy it. I enjoy isolation, I love the intensity of coding that I can get done. I'm generally more introverted. That doesn't make the pandemic fun and rainbows. It's still been psychologically the most difficult time for me because I live in NYC. Walking the dog twice a day on ghost streets empty of any pedestrians, devoid of the hum of traffic and hearing nothing but the wails of every ambulance in the area for the better part of a month was deeply disturbing in a way I still haven't come to terms with. Rubbing down the door knob with bleach. Double masking and surgical gloving when going to the bodega on the block for fruit. A real and valid fear of death and maiming for multiple months isn't something you just bounce back from. So yes: It's a subjective statement. However it's not like just being an introvert made the pandemic a walk in the park. Don't mistake your experience as speaking for all introverts.

DrBazza 5y ago
> Rubbing down the door knob with bleach. This article [1] implies the chance of catching COVID-19 from contact surfaces is 1 in 10,000 *at best* under lab conditions, and negligible at best. You're more likely to be struck by lightning or hit by a car. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-r...
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  The funny thing is bleach is what you need to stop noro and rota viruses, and those are actually very transmissible via surfaces, yet the protocol at my kids’ daycare (national chain) does not involve bleaching door knobs on the regular. The same daycare that 2 weeks ago had an outbreak of noro or rotavirus which caused entire classes of toddlers to be infected and go home and vomit for a day and was spread to siblings and parents at home. But they are still sanitizing pens. People’s risk profiles are crazy, and there is an insane amount of cover your ass for PR purposes.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]

somethingabo 5y ago

I’m not sure if comparing introverted life to a pandemic where people’s friends and families are dying alone in a hospital is a good comparison.

silicon2401 5y ago
I'm strictly talking about the day to day circumstances of distancing, masks, etc, not illness or death of loved ones as that's obviously an unpleasant thing at any time.

ianai 5y ago

Agree. I’ve suffered levels of abuse far too many times simply because someone misread my facial expressions professionally/personally. My school bullies would examine my expressions intimately and the “lessons” they instilled on me through my basic desire to not give them something to read stand to this day. Having a simple block over my face has been downright comforting. And frankly I’m not missing the everyday exposures to allergens nor anything else in the air.

cashewchoo 5y ago

I think it's very fair and valid for you to feel however you want with regards to shelter-in-place/wfh/lockdown, but to me it seems somewhat unconscionable to be smug like enjoying your time alone is a huge win against extroverts. I feel like it's a pretty ridiculous over-statement to say that introverts feel like they're in a pandemic normally. I'm an introvert and don't feel like that. I suspect the only people who could reasonably feel like that are people with anxiety disorders or phobias. I don't know, I'm not saying you can't express your opinion or feel how you feel. But I want to express I'm a bit grossed out reading your post, as you seem just a bit too gleeful and smug at this whole situation.

ianai 5y ago
I think you’re being overly reactive to the OP. Glee would be a lot more blatant and celebratory of the misfortune of others. I don’t think that’s their point. Not mine anyway. I’m pushing back on the sentiment you pose because it’s far too often used and oppressively effective.
- kaesar14 5y ago
  It seems OP is quite gratified at the rest of us having gotten "... a sample of how miserable pre-pandemic life was for those of us who are more introverted or misanthropic." when even as mostly an introvert this pandemic has been more than the typical anxiety of having to interact with others when I didn't want to.
  - silicon2401 5y ago
    I'll copy another comment I made for convenience. Please tell me where I expressed any glee at other people's misfortunes. What I said was the following which is a statement, not an expression of emotion: > Those of you who have found the slightly over a year duration of the pandemic difficult have gotten a sample of how miserable pre-pandemic life was for those of us who are more introverted or misanthropic. How other people feel doesn't impact me, but I do hope that people who have not enjoyed lockdown can gain some empathy for the people who have enjoyed lockdown. Pre-pandemic life was as uncaring and dismissive of people who thrive during the pandemic as pandemic life is towards people who thrived before the pandemic.

SketchySeaBeast 5y ago

I'm an extreme introvert as well, my wife is all the social interaction I require, and I'm a giant homebody, but I'm still super tired. Work wise I've been under pressure for a fair bit this year and there were no experiences to balance it out with. I miss a lot of small indulgences - quiet brunches on a Wednesday morning or going to get coffee. I may even miss the movie theater occasionally. I certainly don't miss working from the office, but I miss the variety of downtime. A camel doesn't often need water, but they still need it.

gsibble 5y ago
This is basically how I feel. I'm an introvert and I'm exhausted and need a break. Being an introvert does not necessarily mean I like sitting in my small apartment all day with a roommate for months on end. I need a vacation.
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silicon2401 5y ago
Perhaps you're not as extreme as you think, or perhaps I'm more extreme than most. I didn't miss movie theaters, eating out, driving, museums, malls, nothing. I have been able to stay in great shape with weights at home and biking, get more than enough socialization with my partner, and have plenty of hobbies that don't require interaction with or proximity to other people. There's a reason that my life goal is to escape into hermitude: I have zero interest in being around or seeing other humans unless they're loved ones.
- SketchySeaBeast 5y ago
  Yeah, I don't care to see the people, my wife is enough for me, but I want a change and new experiences. Not even to travel, but to take some time and recover. Eat some food I don't usually eat, experience some things I haven't felt good about for the last year and a bit.

DrBazza 5y ago

> Increased physical and social distance from other people I believe for many people, this is more because "everyone else does it" and the general "miserable office atmosphere" in our industry. I'm not accusing the OP of anything by the way. I would have said that I was in the group of "you've said hello, that's enough social contact for one day", yet after 15 months, at least according to friends and family, I'm more friendly, more sociable, and more outgoing. I think really for a lot of people that are enjoying WFH for the last 15 months, what they're really enjoying, myself included is not sitting 2 feet from someone who is not family, that talks, fidgets, coughs, sniffs, slurps, and eats food at their desk 3 times a day, and being in an open plan office with 10-100 other people.

TechBro8615 5y ago
As a (currently, sort of) introvert, I agree with both you and the parent. I also had a great time during the pandemic. But I was behaving exactly as I was before, when I was depressed. The difference is that now everyone else – even celebrities and Instagram party girls – were suddenly living my lifestyle, and that gave me a sense of comfort. It meant that I no longer felt like I was letting the world pass me by, because the world stopped. But now it’s back on again, frankly, that feeling is coming back. It was nice while it lasted, but that’s clearly not sustainable for anyone.
- DrBazza 5y ago
  I'm "old" by the standards on here, in fact retirement isn't too far away if I want it, and I'm genuinely intrigued by how my personality is going to change once I'm no longer working. I see the last 15 months or so as a trial run, and it's been great. I'm dreading going to back to the office if I'm honest.

ramesh31 5y ago

I've never been so envious of happily married people in my life. Being single throughout this ordeal has broken me mentally, particularly at an age (31) where I'm staring down the last couple years of being able to meet someone my age. And the prospects coming out of it are grim. For people with a happy home life, this may have been a good time. But for the isolated, work from home, single people with no long term social circle outside of work, it has been an utter nightmare.

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golergka 5y ago
> particularly at an age (31) where I'm staring down the last couple years of being able to meet someone What? I'm 33, only a few months into my current relationship, and I have to say that dating is so much better at this age than it ever was.
- ramesh31 5y ago
  >I'm 33, only a few months into my current relationship, and I have to say that dating is so much better at this age than it ever was. You can get lucky. There are certainly unicorns out there. Or you can date younger, if you're ok with that. But by and large, women and men work on different timelines. And you don't realize this as a man until it hits. The vast majority of women are out of the dating pool by 30. And by this age, you've both ossified into separate individuals with rigid expectations and assumptions about life, which makes the flexibility needed to build a real lasting connection infinitely harder.
  - philangist 5y ago
    Why wouldn't you date someone younger? At 31 assuming you have your life reasonably together and aren't living in some rural area (or san francisco lol) you can definitely meet attractive and interesting women 25+ that would be interested in settling down on your timeframe. Dating is all about self fulfilling prophecies so if you're telling yourself there are no women available that's what you're going to manifest.

jcadam 5y ago

Yep, As my company slowly starts going back to the office, I decided to move to a remote/rural area because I wasn't willing to go back into an office everyday. I expected to have to find a new job, but my current employer offered to let me continue remotely, so I suppose it has worked out.

A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
I am jelaous. My company has a stated goal of going back to its old ways. I requested basically hybrid mode ( one day in office a week ) to show I am a team player, but it is clear remote is reserved for favorites..
- jcadam 5y ago
  Perhaps I'm a favorite... for now - my company is getting acquired, so I may be on the job hunt soon anyway.

crispyambulance 5y ago

Being an introvert does NOT mean having unreadable or negative "resting face" expressions, nor does it mean dreading routine interaction with other humans, and it ESPECIALLY is not anything like "misanthropic". What some of you people are describing sound more like autism or some kinds of personality disorders. That's very different from introversion--- which roughly half of the population could be categorized as.

silicon2401 5y ago
How do you define misanthropy? A quick google search says the following: "Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or contempt of the human species, human behavior or human nature." That applies to me, which is why I dislike being around people that aren't loved ones, and why I've enjoyed the lockdown world where extra systems have emerged to keep people away from me. People with autism may or may not feel similarly, I can't say. I don't have problems socializing, I just dislike people.

sunshineforever 5y ago

I agree. 2020 was one of the best years of my life.

nchie 5y ago

I don't think this is how most introverts have felt. Introversion doesn't mean you dislike interaction with other people. Like others mentioned, what you're describing doesn't sound like just being introverted, it sounds like ASD or some other personality disorder. Definitely subjective though. I'd say I'm an introvert, and I've made it through ok, but it still very much feels like I lost a year of my life. It's really not been too different from being in prison in the country where I live.

silicon2401 5y ago
That's quite callous towards people with autism. Many people with autism very much want to socialize and integrate into society, but have difficulties doing so. I don't have difficulties socializing, I just don't like people (misanthropy) and get drained by socialization (introversion), which is why the pandemic has been a great time for me. Of course by that I mean the circumstances as they have impacted my life, not the health status of people.

MattGaiser 5y ago

I wouldn’t go as far as you, but I agree. Life got stripped of its tedious socially required games.

ryandrake 5y ago

Yea, I kind of cringe when I read the all-hands e-mails from my company that say things like "We know this has been incredibly difficult for all of you..." and "Everyone wants to get back into the office..." Wow, speak for yourself--it's been the best year of my life, and no, I'd rather just stay remote permanently, thankyouverymuch! On the other hand, it gives me a chance to step back and develop some real empathy for everyone else. I recognize that I am blessed, and most people aren't wired like me, and the isolation has been really tough for them. When I interact with people over videoconference, I have to remind myself that this person might very well be suffering to the point of a mental breakdown from all this, and I need to communicate with care and thoughtfulness.

silicon2401 5y ago
> On the other hand, it gives me a chance to step back and develop some real empathy for everyone else. I recognize that I am blessed, and most people aren't wired like me, and the isolation has been really tough for them. When I interact with people over videoconference, I have to remind myself that this person might very well be suffering to the point of a mental breakdown from all this, and I need to communicate with care and thoughtfulness. This is what I hope everybody else can come out of the pandemic with: empathy, particularly for people like you and me who have thrived during the pandemic. Unfortunately, I fear you are an exception and people will push to make things just how they were before, as evinced by your email. On the bright side, I think it will at least get a little easier to find remote jobs, etc moving forward.

raydev 5y ago

Good for you! You can continue working while other people take much needed time off.

daybadone 5y ago

I despise you.