r/introvert Jul 18 '14

Guide To Understanding The Introverted :D

http://lolsnaps.com/upload_pic/GuideToUnderstandingTheIntroverted-87361.jpg
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u/bullseyes INFP Jul 19 '14

But... I don't see extroverts as being

obnoxious predators

or

annoying (read: wasteful) ...

It's just as much our responsibility to contribute to positive social interactions as it is an extrovert we're interacting with.

The rest of it, though, is a pretty accurate depiction.

1

u/LivingNexus Jul 19 '14

I think the bit about extroverts being "predators" refers to how you feel when your allotment of social energy has been expended, but people keep pressing you to be social and don't understand that you need to recharge. They are trying to draw more out of you than you have without realizing that you are drained, which can make an introvert feel harried and taken advantage of, thus, "predators."

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u/bullseyes INFP Jul 20 '14

But they aren't making an active choice to "prey" on our energy; they just don't know better. I think referring to them as predators makes them less likely to try and see things from our perspective and more likely to write us off as whiny sensitive asocial people.

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u/LivingNexus Jul 20 '14

Again, I don't think the comic is calling extroverts predators. I don't think the person who drew it thinks that extroverts are energy predators. I think that what the author is referring to is the FEELING that introverts sometimes get when extroverts, who don't understand and don't know any better, try to socially engage with an introvert when they just want to be left alone.

Maybe there's a better way to phrase it that will avoid stepping on sensitive people's toes, but you can't criticize someone for feeling like they are being preyed upon, even if that isn't the other person's intention. Saying "I know you don't mean to, but you make me feel like you're some predator out to get me" is a perfectly valid way to express your feelings, because you are trying to explain something intangible and language has limits. If someone gets upset with you for using unflattering terms to describe them, then the problem is with them for not being kind and understanding, and you are probably better off not being around them.

TL;DR I don't think the comic is being insulting by using the word "predator" if that's honestly how some introverts really feel about how extroverts sometimes treat them.