Bix dot Blog

Andreas Kluth at least gets right how to define introversion, unlike seemingly every other reference to introverts during the pandemic, but I question the contention that we “are thus less likely than extroverts to feel deflated, isolated or bored, and more likely to be energized”. While in some respects it’s difficult to separate out my introversion from my autism and my anxiety (and while not all autistics are introverted), what Kluth ignores is the matter of control. Introverts, too, require sociality, but one thing I’d bet that most introverts and extroverts alike would say is that the ability to choose when one is social is pretty key. More so for introverts only because sociality for them is exhausting and so deciding when and where is important. The lack of control which social distancing measures force upon us is what leads introverts, too, to become “deflated, isolated or bored”; I spent three days last week in a deep depression. Being introverted isn’t some sort of magic bullet for surviving the pandemic with one’s mental state unharmed, let alone intact.