LET'S TALK ABOUT: HOW THE INTERNET HELPED THE INTROVERT

For a long time now, I've not really felt like I fitted in with the typical description of a teenager, and nothing could prove this to me more than going to university. I am not like most other students. I don't enjoy going out and partying, and I especially don't enjoy drinking alcohol. That's not to say that I'm 'teetotal' - I drink socially, and if I ever do go out, I will have something to drink - but it's not something I would do on a regular basis. I'm the kind of person that enjoys film nights, baking nights, and meeting people for a meal and/or social drinks. I'm just not the going out type. I'd never thought of that part of my personality as a problem before, but coming to university has thrown me into the deep end of a completely different environment; one that I'm not 100% comfortable in. If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know that I really struggled to find my place here in Manchester during my first semester, and this trait that I possess is one of the main reasons why. Surrounded by 7 other students that live in my flat, the majority of whom love drinking and going out frequently, I started to question - is there something wrong with me? Why don't I enjoy the same things that they do? Why don't I feel comfortable drinking like them? Why don't I enjoy going out like them? Eventually, as I settled down during my second semester, I just came to accept that different people like different things, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I like what I like, and I shouldn't change just to fit into my environment, especially when that environment is only temporary. After drawing this conclusion myself, I stumbled across this article in May's addition of Company magazine, and it spoke so loudly to me. I even showed it to my Dad, and he also agreed that it summed me up pretty well. There is a section at the side of the article showing 5 celebrities who are introverts. My Dad pointed out that Emma Watson was on the list, and that her thoughts on the matter were incredibly similar to mine. She said, "Extroverts are bigged up so much, and if you're anything other than an extrovert, you're made to think there's something wrong with you. I felt like there must be something wrong with me, because I don't want to go out and do what all my friends want to do". My thoughts exactly.

The article states, "extroverts tend to get energy from other people and external sources - but introverts get it from inside. They think about things carefully, are often less impulsive, and tend to need a balance between socialising and alone time". Personally, I really enjoy spending time with myself. It enables me to do things like contribute to this blog, to catch up on anything that I'm following currently on the internet, and just generally relax and have time with my thoughts. Don't get me wrong - I love spending time with my friends and family, and I wouldn't like to call myself an anti-social person. I'm not particularly shy, as when I'm put in a situation that I'm not comfortable with, I am able to communicate effectively. But that doesn't mean that being put in those situations doesn't terrify me, and that I wouldn't much rather just be snuggled up in bed with a hot chocolate and a good book. 

The point that the article is making is within its title - "How The Internet Helped The Introvert". Having this blog has actually made me realise how important the internet is in my life. Like I said, I'm not a shy person, and am able to voice my opinions 'live' - it's just something I'd prefer not to do if I didn't have to, and the internet provides people like me with that option. We can have an online voice, instead, and be just as influential and well heard, if not more! My favourite quotes of the article include:-

"The internet allows us introverts to accept ourselves as we are, rather than hiding away like little woodland creatures”  "The worst thing an introvert could do is pretend they're an extrovert - it'll drain them when they could be focusing on all the great things that they're able to do with the skills they already have. Skills such as weighing up decisions, or coming up with creative ideas can all be done easily online. Introverts are great at planning... so social media plays right into their hands”
"We've got just as many mad skills as the lovely extroverts, it's just that ours are locked away in our brains"
"Thanks to social media, we can work a timeline, while an extrovert works a room"

Us introverts have got to realise that there is nothing wrong with us. We're different from what others might expect from us, but that does not mean that we're weird. We all have a set of skills that enable us to do whatever it is that we're passionate about, and it shouldn't matter if those skills allow us to announce our presence loud and clear, or to simply express our opinions via the medium of the internet. Whatever it is that we feel comfortable doing, we should do. Sure, being put out of your comfort zone every now and again is a positive thing, as it widens your skill set and personality, but why live your entire life out of your comfort zone? We have a comfort zone for a reason - it's what we like, it's what we want, and it's who we are.