Internet and introverts

Tonight, we're going to talk about introverts and their relationship with the internet. To understand this relationship, we need to understand what an introvert is.

Introversion as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life". In other words, introverts generally draw power from within themselves and not from an outside source such as praise or gratitude from other people. As such, they are often misunderstood as being shy, disconnected or slow. The introvert enjoys communication and interaction with others, but in small doses as opposed to an extrovert. They also prefer non-verbal, written messages over verbal communication.

Introverts find it easier to communicate online. The lack of a physical representation of oneself minimizes the prejudice one may face in the real world. Therefore, less stimuli is produced and introverts are not as drained as they would be if they were to attend a party or a large social event. This is especially useful to a shy introvert as it may serve to boost their low self-esteem.

As a shy person is one who avoids social meetings out of fear, online chatrooms may contribute to their low self-esteem. Adversely, cyber bullying may in turn, lower their self esteem even further, as they tend to take everything too seriously. There have been cases around the world where teenagers have been driven to suicide because of e-bullying.

This writer thinks that there is no such thing as e-bullying in reality. As at the end of the day, the internet is still just a string of text messages on a monitor which should not be taken too seriously.