Introverts And Lockdown
As much as we care about the plight of healthcare workers, and their ongoing, exhausting frontline struggle elicits nothing but appreciation, the lockout scenario was meant to be a godsend for most introverts. Those who loved their time at home alone were already isolation experts and were now basking in some sort of pride in taking one for their nation.
But is taking your life indoors into the outside word qualified as life of an introvert? The home of an introvert is a haven away from overly charged workplace settings, gyms, cafes and bars. This is a place to decompress on a regular basis from all the octane-fuelled stimulation that the world throws upon us.
People are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, but by having the virtual world take over completely, it has in effect overcompensated for social distancing in an effort to replicate the outside world, indoors.
For virtual drinking sessions, zoom dates and party binge-watch sessions, empty 'do-nothing' calendars have made way. Nevertheless, the latest edition is a bad relative, messy. All is being force-fitted into the cramped chat windows of video-conference applications that were never really prepared to replicate real-world social interactions.
The effect is the nightmare of an introvert, a strange, confusing sensation of so many things happening to an inappropriate degree while we are physically keeping a healthy distance from each other. It had been a stressful experience even for extroverts. An always-on internet link has always contributed to human connections, so much so that the importance of time alone has started to be revered.
And extroverts turned to the manual of introverts, turning down invitations to chat, concentrating on self-care. Time alone is a difficult proposition to make in the course of time, but people understand the need and act upon it. Even at the expense of rude sounding when you just say 'I don't want to'.
Extroverts and introverts are the targets of many a listicle, you will find out if you are one, along with your favourite colour and the vocations you need to take up on the basis of planetary movements. Maybe this is the time to put out the unvarnished facts. The fact that introverts don't want to be on their own all the time, and extroverts can enjoy quiet times, is a relatively rational point that seems to be lost on others.
It's down to how we all refresh ourselves. Right now, everyone is feeling a lot of fear about the spread of coronavirus, which is being handled in several ways. To others, sitting at home means depression that has brought ruminance, negative thinking and a whole host of other mental health problems to the forefront. It's a good thing for others, that they can focus on themselves with all that spare time. Introverts want to get out and extroverts want to get in. Everybody does not get what they want, just like the real world.
What is obvious is that video-conferencing isn't really working. Most conversations aren't normal, so phone calls may be a better bet in that context. In the age of text, calling people in fact may seem like stepping back into the past, but it is very successful. Knowing that you're not being watched will help alleviate anxiety, because you can walk around, cook or do chores while talking, including having one-on-one contact.
Perhaps introverts and extroverts can see what each group lacks and possesses to a large extent, as a means of helping them to better understand themselves once they return to real life.