Becoming more introverted each year...

I still like having a good conversation with people I meet, but I've been a loner most of my life, so I haven't noticed any personal trend towards even more social isolation. AAMOF, I am going to make some effort to socialize more, once I move out of Texas.
 
all of my psychological profiles identify me as an "extroverted introvert." In plan English, I am great "onstage" but have to have a lot of alone time to balance the social part of my life. My "onstage" has been as a teacher and a performer in a dance troupe, which worked well for me as I am quite sociable and fun loving if I have a purpose. However, I'm don't usually enjoy large parties or activities where people mill around making inane chatter (would that fit into the thread about snobbery :p:p:p
 
I was in education so everyday was some sort of a performance in front of a live audience. These days I enjoy my quiet time. I enjoy good conversation but find that most people just talk & talk about themselves which is very boring. We have a "Happy Hour" get together tonight at our 55 Plus condo but I am still not sure if I'm going. Too much noise with everyone talking in one room. Perhaps I'm feeling guilty thinking about a past life of going to New Year's Parties & coming home at 2 AM. I'll see how it all goes. The easy way is to watch a good DVD or have a drink at home but maybe it's not the best way.
 
Marlene said:
all of my psychological profiles identify me as an "extroverted introvert." In plan English, I am great "onstage" but have to have a lot of alone time to balance the social part of my life. My "onstage" has been as a teacher and a performer in a dance troupe, which worked well for me as I am quite sociable and fun loving if I have a purpose. However, I'm don't usually enjoy large parties or activities where people mill around making inane chatter (would that fit into the thread about snobbery :p:p:p
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I can identify, here: When I was onstage, I worked a crowd as good as anyone in the biz. I was animated, and kept everyone up and dancing. I talked to the crowd between tunes. On breaks, though, I found offstage areas where folks couldn't find me and, when recognized about town, I tended to cut conversations very short. I never have been comfortable with small talk with (comparative) strangers.
 
I once thought that I was introverted, but my therapist said that I am a snob and egocentric. I worked really hard to change that characteristic, but my wife says that I am still a snob. I have always been very pleasant and professional when speaking with my passengers. I don't understand how they can say that about me.

My wife shouldn't talk. All of her "colleagues" (as she calls them) at the university act like their you know what doesn't stink.
 
Same here. Have always been slightly introverted, but pain has made me much more so. Don't even want to talk on the phone on really bad days. I have a few family members I'm very close to and several long-term very close friends; they all understand my health stuff.

And since grad school, I've learned to hate small talk. I love being with my earthy, sometimes crude front line health care colleagues ...many of whom only have a 1 or 2 year community college nursing education, but have a refreshing habit of saying just what they think. And I like to talk with and learn from people more intelligent than me. But most of my peers are middle to middle/upper class married with kids/grandkids who bore me senseless if I have to chit chat with them for more than 10 minutes or so.
 
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treeguy64 said:
I can identify, here: When I was onstage, I worked a crowd as good as anyone in the biz. I was animated, and kept everyone up and dancing. I talked to the crowd between tunes. On breaks, though, I found offstage areas where folks couldn't find me and, when recognized about town, I tended to cut conversations very short. I never have been comfortable with small talk with (comparative) strangers.
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I know exactly what you are talking about. I hate small talk and all of the fake emotional displays that go with. UGH, tiresome and boring.
 
Wow. Lots of "it's only interesting when I'm the center of attention and controlling the activity" going on in this thread. Perhaps that's part of the definition of being introverted - finding others tiresome, boring or inane.

Small talk is simply a precursor. Most humans break the ice before moving to more meaningful conversations. Even on this forum, most first introduce themselves with a little info about their lives, then test the waters with mostly innocuous posts, then move onto more meaningful, revealing posts. It's the social dance of our culture.
 
I love people and I need people in my life but I will go incognito or avoid people I know just so I don't have to socialize. LOL I like these people but I want to be social, when I want to be social. I know that isn't nice but that is becoming my normal.
 
I am an extrovert but not overly so and just a people person. However I like my privacy and space and guard it with my life
 

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