Inexplainabletrovert
It’s obvious that both the introvert and extrovert can thrive in the online environment: The former being able to now express themselves more comfortably and the latter simply doing what they did in meatspace but now online.
I’m an introvert… sometimes, and I’m also an extrovert… sometimes. So I suppose you could call me an inexplainabletrovert. Sorry… that was lame. Okay moving on.
I suppose my situation is typical of most people though. In the ‘meatspace’ I am an extrovert when I’m around the high school kids in my church’s youth group. I’ve been an active leader in my church’s youth group for the last decade. I’ve seen a lot of stuff. I’m at the point where I feel like I’ve heard it all and that’s a cool place for me to be because I feel that I can really help my kids when things come up. I’m not phased by some of the stuff they come to me with, which I believe allows me to jump right in and get dirty to help them through it.
So I’m an extrovert around them because I’m comfortable around them. I act completely goofy around them and many of them think I’m weird. But that’s okay. That’s what I’m going for. I do it because it puts them at ease and creates the notion that their church is a place where they can come and just be themselves. It’s really important for high school kids to have a place where they can feel safe to just be themselves. The world tells them they need to judge each other and they all get judged at school. Their church is one place they can come and just let loose. So I try to be an extrovert when it comes to the youth group.
Okay… so that was kind of a promo for our youth group… I’m not sorry. I needed to make my point. You understand.
I’m saying that because of blogging, these last two conferences I went to and my leadership role in my youth group… I’m becoming more of an extrovert. Which I like. All these people follow me on twitter. Some of them I have met in the ‘meatspace’ while some I have not. They all have their own reasons for following me… I don’t know what they are. But every time I tweet from my phone or my computer, over 400 people know what I’m up to. That sounds like an extrovert to me.
There are those that say the internet is making the human race more socially isolated. We are just changing the way we do things. I’m really sort of new at the idea of only speaking for myself but I agree with the concept and I’m going to try it for you here. I have become more aware of my surroundings and of differing opinions than my own BECAUSE of new technology.
I think that there is a tendency for those that fin it much easier to relate and socialize online to forgo the 'meatspace' connections.
Oh yes… I agree. I have a friend who plays Warcraft at work… I saw someone say on twitter recently that you can't put Warcraft on your resume to pimp your leadership skills. puahaha
hmm I'd say I tend toward introvertism, but I don't think online friendships have replaced real life ones, just added to them.
But my objectivity in this is…low at best.
I don't think you have to be objective here. The fact is that your online friendships "added to" not "replaced" your real life ones. That's your particular experience. It's a fact… not an opinion.