Social Media - Where Introverts become Extroverts

The internet, in particular, the social media seems to have allowed introverts to be involved in the social scene more often than not. Yes I know, at first glance, the whole concept may sound rather paradoxical. Introverts, people who are known to keep to themselves, actively "socialising" on Facebook and Twitter at their own will and actually enjoying it? It's not just because they feel obliged to or they had one of their extroverted counterparts drag them into this netherworld? What?

The answer lies at the heart of what being an introvert means. As many of you may already know, the primary difference between introverts and extroverts lie in their neural wiring – extroverts feel energised by all forms of social contact and introverts on the other hand, feel drained. However, that's majorly because introverts abhor small talk, which is a crucial part of starting a conversation in a social setting, and after channeling all their energy into coming up with right things to say, by the end of it they are left devoid of anymore to carry on the conversation much further. This eventually leads to the perpetuation of the stereotype that introverts hate people and social contact of all sorts, which I, as an introvert, can vouch to be incorrect and I'm quite certain many others feel the same way.

The thing is, introverts are rather selective about what they want to share or talk about. If you start a conversation with an introvert about a topic which piques their interest, they can talk for hours without tiring, even to the point where you'd have to urge them to take a moment to catch their breathe. Just ask anyone who's ever had a conversation about football with me. Does this remind you of that friend of yours who is very quiet in class, but when it comes to giving a presentation or discussing the fundamentals of physics, he lights up with his immaculate wit and array of clever puns? You can see it in his eyes how passionate he is about it? Well, you might just have an introvert at hand. 

Now, you're probably wondering what does all that have to do with social networking. Well, here's the thing, unlike face to face conversations, discussing something on social media does not require to first pass through the laborious prerequisite of making small talk, telling the other person how lovely you think the weather is today, asking them what they'd like for lunch or how cute you think their new shoes are.You can cut to the chase and go onto rant about how last night's episode of Game of Thrones proved to be a total disappointment. Not only does this make the process a tad easier for the introvert, but it also eliminates the drawn-out and protracted process of figuring out who actually likes the same stuff as you do. I've had people come up to me and say how different they assumed I was before knowing me through social media and vice versa. It's almost as if the internet allows us introverts to manifest as a pseudo extrovert or live two different lives and have the best of both worlds. Get it? No? Sigh. 

Yes, introverts do adore and require their alone time to ponder and recharge. At the same time, we, without a doubt would equally enjoy having a conversation with you about fan theories regarding who Jon Snow's actual parents are. But you never could've guessed this quiet nerd, who always seems to be lost in a world of their own and never say a word in class, was interested in it unless it wasn't for those status updates. You see my point? Thanks to social media it is easy to get the message,"Hi, I may come off as quiet and disinterested, but I would absolutely love to have a conversation with you about this particular subject that interests me as much as it interests you" across; something that might get you odd looks during face to face conversation.