INTP and the internet

[Agent Intellect]

not really just INTP, but introverts in general. the last couple of days i've done a bit of lurking on other "personality type" forums (the xxFx and xxxJ type people are hard to read, they seem so different) and one thing i've noticed is that a lot of message boards have a very large introverted, and often times INTP clientele.

one reason i can think of for this is that extroverted people might just not spend as much time on the internet as introverted people, because they're out having social lives. the other reason, especially for the abundance of INTP's on these message boards, is that (and this is very true for myself) INTP's have a very strong urge to understand what make themselves tick, where other people (especially extraverted people) don't care as much about what make them tick.

one thing i find interesting is that on these forums, the introverts all seem to be so expressive. these people have these long posts with hundreds of replies. my theory is that the anonymity of the internet allows for introverted people to express themselves more freely. they don't actually know who they're talking to and they don't actually know you. i know that if someone i know in real life read this board, i'd probably have half the posts that i do now.

i guess this was more of an interesting observation that i've had, but if anyone has any thoughts/comments/questions about it, by all means, feel free.

 

[Dissident]

I think I agree with all that.

Maybe for our standards this IS social life, but in a safer environment, more controlled in some senses,making it freer in others.

 

[Agent Intellect]

it is a nice structured social life. in a forum setting, i don't need to participate in any conversation i don't want to. at a large party or family gathering, i'm forced into conversations i don't really care to have.

 

[Aphasia]

one thing i find interesting is that on these forums, the introverts all seem to be so expressive. these people have these long posts with hundreds of replies. my theory is that the anonymity of the internet allows for introverted people to express themselves more freely. they don't actually know who they're talking to and they don't actually know you. i know that if someone i know in real life read this board, i'd probably have half the posts that i do now.

I'd like to mention one thing: I think slowly(more like in a convoluted way) sometimes. I can take my time typing, so I'm somewhat more comfortable with posting (you'll be uncomfortable too if you only had 1 minute to type something )

 

[Agent Intellect]

I'd like to mention one thing: I think slowly(more like in a convoluted way) sometimes. I can take my time typing, so I'm somewhat more comfortable with posting (you'll be uncomfortable too if you only had 1 minute to type something )

thats another good point. its much easier to think something out more thoroughly when typing then when talking. i often feel that i can't get my point across very intelligably when being put on the spot in a social situation.

 

[fullerene]

That was actually my very first thought upon stumbling on this forum... I don't like the idea of talking/expressing myself more freely on a forum than I would in real life (it feels like hypocrisy to me, which I very much hate), just because it's more comfortable--whether that be for the reasons that AI mentioned or the one that Aphasia did. I just know that for some reason it's easier for me, and that alone bugs me.

An add-on thought to that... I've heard that a lot has been discovered concerning introverts only recently. Do you guys think that the introvert actually gives rise to more introverts? If MBTI types (or whatever "real quality" it is that MBTI models in people) is nature-based, then it would probably be a healthy thing; the internet gives introverts a way to get others' input without forced interaction. If it's nurture-based, though, then it's likely that the internet is actually creating more introverts. If this trend continues, is it healthy? I'm sure I'm gonna get a lot of badly biased responses back... but it's more than likely I doubt the naturality of introversion just because I was raised to pick up a few blatantly extroverted characteristics (feeling uncomfortable during silence when I'm around acquaintences or half-friends, for instance, not because they're silent, but because I have an internal feeling that they shouldn't be there). It seems possible, though, that we're waging a war against nature with anonymous written communication. I mean, we fight nature all the time (even shelters are made to keep off the rain), but what is a society of introverts like, and how will that affect the essence of humanity centuries from now? I wonder...

 

[Jesin]

Stop equating "natural" with "healthy". Also, the word "natural" is quite vague and may not even mean anything if you think about it.

what is a society of introverts like, and how will that affect the essence of humanity centuries from now? I wonder...

Depends. How severe are we talking here? Auroran, Solarian, what? (But then, those societies had other problems, too.)

 

[Jordan~]

Why does everyone ignore the recognised fallacies? They're there to help you! If someone uses "natural" in an argument just point out the appeal to nature, no explanation needed.

 

[Jesin]

Explanations are more effective and less likely to be misunderstood or taken the wrong way.

 

[Decaf]

I wonder...

First off... by the time people get to the capacity to use the internet, they're long past the point of nurture having decided their base personality (according to type theory) even if nature had nothing to do with it.

What is a society of introverts like? Maybe you've heard the rumor that Americans are considered loud and ogre'ish when they tour other countries? That's because we are a culture of extraverts visiting countries that are culturally introverted. Countries whose cultures are generally considered introverted: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany (a country that has perfected the art of using beer to make friends), Switzerland, Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Singapore. I really don't know what the cultures of Africa look like, so I won't venture any guesses.

Regardless of the nurture vs. nature argument, deriding introversion is destructive. Its far more likely that you picked up some perspectives on introversion from school (nerds, geeks, freaks, recluse, anti-social) or your parents (go outside and get some fresh air. Its not healthy to stay inside all the time), then that knowing how to extravert yourself has decreased your "dependence" on introversion.

Now, to be fair, if the nurture argument you put forth is correct (and some people adhere to it) then you're talking trait theory. There characteristics of a person are mutable and derive from life experience along a continuum of increasing skill. Myers-Briggs works on completely different fundamentals.

 

[Jordan~]

Are people in the UK really extraverted? Maybe it's just because I live in Scotland, but almost everyone I know is dour, bitter and misanthropic.

 

[fullerene]

ok that's enough, this is about the fifth or sixth time (almost in a row) that my ideas have been slammed by both of you without hardly a moment's consideration. I never said that what is natural is healthy; I said that if introversion is natural, then the internet is healthy for us, because it gives introverts a comfortable way to collaborate. If introversion has nothing to do with nature, though, then perhaps the reason nobody knew much about introverts until recently is because they simply didn't exist. If this is the case, then the chances are that social behavior and collaboration are part of our evolutionary history (whether genetic evolution or behavioral). Ever tried to breathe underwater? We're not so well equipped for it by genetic evolution (ie by nature)... so let me know how it works out for you. You'll hardly find anybody who thinks that physically "working together" produces worse results than trying to do it alone... hell, certain species' of hunting animals are practically helpless unless they're working together in packs. Do you know whether or not collaboration and social interaction is genetically-based? I don't, but at some point you just have to think "well... this seems to have played a major part in our survival up until now, so perhaps we should think things through before we ignore millions of years of experience."

You two are obnoxious... well, jordan way more so, but both enough to get to me.. Even if I continue to have time during school, no more of my ideas are coming through here. Although my communication is probably pretty imprecise or sloppy, it's insulting to have the weakest and most senseless logic imposed on it so immediately. As much as I love most of the other regulars, I'm saving my ideas for people who try to understand them before their opinions are formed.

edit: sry decaf, and thanks... didn't see your response before posting. no offense meant to you at all.

 

[Jesin]

I'm saving my ideas for people who try to understand them before their opinions are formed.

But... I did try! Sorry I misunderstood you. It really did sound like you were equating "natural" with "healthy", and like I said, the word "natural" is vague. It can mean a lot of different things. I made a guess at what you meant by it, and apparently missed pretty badly. Sorry. Please don't leave.

-----

Why does everyone ignore the recognised fallacies? They're there to help you! If someone uses "natural" in an argument just point out the appeal to nature, no explanation needed.

This is why.

 

[Decaf]

Are people in the UK really extraverted? Maybe it's just because I live in Scotland, but almost everyone I know is dour, bitter and misanthropic.

UK is too diverse for me to feel comfortable labeling a major culture. Introvert would be my guess though.

 

[Jordan~]

This is why.

I'll confess that I didn't even read the argument (I'm not invovled in this one). I just saw an apparently needless explanation of why it's wrong to evaluate something by how natural it is in an argument.

 

[Wisp]

mmm... cheers cryptonia, that was shout club worthy. Anyways, I usually just absorb info and not spit much of a conclusion out.

That said, I lean more to nature, because an extravert will find the internet boring and tedious, by nature, or so it seems. Besides, there are many well known introverts before the invention of the 'web.

 

[Vrecknidj]

I don't know how healthy it is for introverts to continue to feed their introversion. I don't mean by this that I think that introverts need to "come out of their shells" or anything condescending like that. I just mean that introverts, being introverts, might very well disappear further into their own private spaces if there aren't circumstances to draw them forth.

We all, I think, need to develop all of our capacities. There is in each INTP an "inner ESFJ" an "inner ENFP" and etc., etc. That's a fun exercise by the way. And quite a challenge. Pick a few types you find hardest to get and spend a few hours trying to engage the world from that perspective. Hang out at a shopping center and try to BE an ESFJ for a while. It's pretty damn hard. If you can do that with consciousness and attentiveness, and pay attention to how it's affecting you, though, it can also be immensely rewarding--especially insofar as it helps build perspective.

Dave

 

[Artifice Orisit]

. I never said that what is natural is healthy; I said that if introversion is natural, then the internet is healthy for us, because it gives introverts a comfortable way to collaborate. If introversion has nothing to do with nature, though, then perhaps the reason nobody knew much about introverts until recently is because they simply didn't exist. If this is the case, then the chances are that social behavior and collaboration are part of our evolutionary history (whether genetic evolution or behavioral). Ever tried to breathe underwater? We're not so well equipped for it by genetic evolution (ie by nature)... so let me know how it works out for you. You'll hardly find anybody who thinks that physically "working together" produces worse results than trying to do it alone... hell, certain species' of hunting animals are practically helpless unless they're working together in packs. Do you know whether or not collaboration and social interaction is genetically-based? I don't, but at some point you just have to think "well... this seems to have played a major part in our survival up until now, so perhaps we should think things through before we ignore millions of years of experience."

On a slightly off topic point is introversion an entirely negative social trait?

From my experience introversion and introverts in particular are an important if poorly appreciated portion of society. Too many people associate being anti-social or shy with being introverted (not trying to twist your words, this is just my experience).

I'm introverted but I'm also a functional member of society and as such I interact with others in a normal (somewhat) fashion. The difference is that I prefer not to interact unless I have a reason; while extroverts participate in social masturbation (they gain pleasure by interaction, I'm just being amusing don't get technical with me).

This brings us back to the main discussion; although introverted people may use the internet to escape the pressure exerted by extroverted personalities I don't think it is a problem. In forums like this introverted people can communicate and participate in the sharing of ideas and knowledge.

If the internet poses any form of threat to society it is through social networking sites like FaceBook. Masses of extroverts participating in what can only be described as mass social masturbation on a global scale, it's horrifying.

 

[severus]

The internet IS my social life. If there was no internet, I'd be practicing my clarinet. If anything the internet is more healthy, for me at least.