Have you ever said or done something and someone misunderstood your words or actions? Yes! A lot of times actually. But for introverts like myself, this happens more often than it does for extroverts and it leaves them wondering why introverts are misunderstood.
We live in a world full of diversity and it’s very common for misunderstanding to occur – there is no doubt about that, but introverts go through this a lot primarily because of their nature.
On this week’s episode of the Introvert series, we’ll be looking at the 5 reasons why introverts are misunderstood I have discovered:
1. Their Shy nature
This is one of the most common reasons why introverts are easily misunderstood. They are regarded as reserved and shy to the point of not airing their views. They are not talkative and so people just look at what they do and then jump to their own conclusions. For instance, in class, when a lecturer asks a question to elicit a response from the class and an introvert doesn’t raise up their hand, the lecturer concludes that they either don’t know the answer or are not being participatory.
2. Socially Selective
Introverts these days are easily misunderstood because they don’t just make friends. They take their time to select people that they are compatible with and so people who don’t understand this term them “unfriendly” and always on their own. Everyone has their taste and mine is different from yours therefore what you want shouldn’t be used to determine what I want and like.
3. Negative stereotypes
Various stereotypes exist for different people, race and tribes. Negative stereotypes for introverts are rife e.g. they are depressing and they hate people. This shapes their mindset about introverts, and how they see introverts and even interact with them. We see celebrities like late Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat for a white man during the era of serious racism. She was someone who was regarded as shy and won’t be able to stand her ground but through this bold act, she somehow broke this stereotype.
4. Societal Expectations
We live in a world where those who talk a lot are seen as smart, most likely to succeed and know more. Society has created a sort of way to regard introverts and so this causes an issue of people not wanting to experience for themselves without judging based on what is generally accepted and known. A lot of introverts have impacted the world regardless of what society says about them and their nature like Mark Zuckerberg.
Susan Cain said that our culture is biased against quiet and reserved people, but introverts are responsible for some of humanity’s greatest achievements
and this has been proven true.
5. Value for Privacy
Introverts love their space and privacy so much that people don’t seem to grab why most times they want to be alone. Alone time is time to think, evaluate situations and actually regain their mental energies. Nothing that wants to take that away would be much appreciated and so people who don’t know how to respect privacy misunderstand introverts and how they operate.
It is very important to pay attention to little details that matter. This goes without saying, that misunderstandings would always occur but they can be minimized with the creation of awareness.
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