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What I find so fascinating about this topic is how extroverts have such a incredibly difficult time accepting that some people just don’t need interpersonal con

What I find so fascinating about this topic is how extroverts have such a incredibly difficult time accepting that some people just don’t need interpersonal contact. Why do you feel the need to question people as if you know more about them than they know about themselves, as if you’re trying to catch them out in a lie? Why is is so hard to accept what they say at face value?

leobg 3y ago
I’m an introvert and I don’t think it’s a stupid question. When you’re alone, you’re interacting with something. A book. HN. Thoughts about what someone else did it said. Working on code on a machine built by others. So the definition of what “alone” means is quite fuzzy. In a time before writing, I suspect introvert would have been much, much rarer, since it would’ve meant interacting just with plants and animals. (Just like being single, 70 years ago, would’ve been a lot harder than it is now, with ready to eat meals, electric home appliances and Uber eats).
- shortcake27 3y ago
  Perhaps I’ve just been asked questions like this too many times. More often than not, when this topic comes up someone inevitably tries to gaslight me. “Oh you interacted with a person at the cafe, you couldn’t actually live without human contact”. “Oh you use the internet, you couldn’t actually live without human contact”. I don’t like people who don’t even know me telling me I don’t know myself. Sure you can argue the definition of alone but you’re splitting hairs. When people talk about being alone they’re referring to a lack of real-time interaction with other humans. Yes I rely on things built by other humans, that has nothing to do with being alone. I quit my job last year and I’ve spent a lot of time alone since then. I don’t get lonely. I don’t crave human contact. I could easily thrive if I never interacted with another human ever again.
  - suction 3y ago
    [dead]
  - leobg 3y ago
    Have you watched Dick Proenneke? Dude lived alone in the wilderness. It’s on YouTube. (Though someone inevitably suggested that there must have been some deep emotional trauma unconvinced women that made that man choose the wilderness.)
- joker_minmax 3y ago
  When you're interacting with something "alone" like a hobby or book, or even an online post, it's something you have control over to an extent, you can walk away from it with no consequences if you need a minute to think. With people, their preferences and feelings must be factored into all decisions you make as a group, and people often become impatient with you if you cannot answer them fast enough. To your other point, there are also more introverts now because there are more only children, which is also due to the technological advancement of reproductive control.

leobg 3y ago

I’m an introvert and I don’t think it’s a stupid question. When you’re alone, you’re interacting with something. A book. HN. Thoughts about what someone else did it said. Working on code on a machine built by others. So the definition of what “alone” means is quite fuzzy. In a time before writing, I suspect introvert would have been much, much rarer, since it would’ve meant interacting just with plants and animals. (Just like being single, 70 years ago, would’ve been a lot harder than it is now, with ready to eat meals, electric home appliances and Uber eats).

shortcake27 3y ago
Perhaps I’ve just been asked questions like this too many times. More often than not, when this topic comes up someone inevitably tries to gaslight me. “Oh you interacted with a person at the cafe, you couldn’t actually live without human contact”. “Oh you use the internet, you couldn’t actually live without human contact”. I don’t like people who don’t even know me telling me I don’t know myself. Sure you can argue the definition of alone but you’re splitting hairs. When people talk about being alone they’re referring to a lack of real-time interaction with other humans. Yes I rely on things built by other humans, that has nothing to do with being alone. I quit my job last year and I’ve spent a lot of time alone since then. I don’t get lonely. I don’t crave human contact. I could easily thrive if I never interacted with another human ever again.
- suction 3y ago
  [dead]
- leobg 3y ago
  Have you watched Dick Proenneke? Dude lived alone in the wilderness. It’s on YouTube. (Though someone inevitably suggested that there must have been some deep emotional trauma unconvinced women that made that man choose the wilderness.)
joker_minmax 3y ago
When you're interacting with something "alone" like a hobby or book, or even an online post, it's something you have control over to an extent, you can walk away from it with no consequences if you need a minute to think. With people, their preferences and feelings must be factored into all decisions you make as a group, and people often become impatient with you if you cannot answer them fast enough. To your other point, there are also more introverts now because there are more only children, which is also due to the technological advancement of reproductive control.