Do Introverts Ever Get Lonely Being Alone?
Introverts are famous for loving their alone time, but the question on everyone’s mind is — do they ever get lonely being alone all the time? Well, here’s the answer. Sometimes, it depends on the person, yes, no, never, maybe on Tuesdays.
In reality, most who call themselves introverts are still people who enjoy the company of others. Even need it. They’re also still social beings, as they are, in fact, human. That’s where the need it part comes in.
For an introvert, loneliness might be preferable to socializing with just anyone. You might think, being lonely warrants any sort of social interaction to ease it, but for many people it could be far from a solution. Being around people you aren’t comfortable with can cause more discomfort than anything else and that might leave you feeling even lonelier.
In order to actually enjoy social interaction and get something from it, you often need the motivation to keep a conversation going. Introverts might prefer to wait for an opportunity to socialize in a setting that they like and people that they trust. It really depends on the person, but here are some of the top reasons an introvert might or might not get lonely when alone.
They Get Lonely After X Amount of Time
Nine times out of ten, an introvert can and will get lonely at some point, but when is that point exactly? It’s up to them! Extroverts could need social stimulation every few hours before they start feeling lonely. While introverts could take days, perhaps even months before they even think about sharing physical space with another person — even making a phone call.
For that reason, it’s safe to say that an introvert can “take” being alone for extended periods of time, but eventually, will desire and seek out socialization to relieve loneliness.
They Socialize Online or Indirectly
For introverts, certain social situations are worse than others and could heavily influence the ways that they socialize. Being at a large gathering or get together for instance — might be the worst-case scenario for introverts that would only consider and prefer small groups or just one-on-one arrangements.
So when you avoid certain situations as an introvert, you find other ways to satisfy your social needs. That’s where a glorious thing called the world wide web (or just “internet” if you want to be all modern about it).
Socializing from a distance could be all that an introvert needs to feel fulfilled. It could be through online messaging, a phone call, or texting. Communicating in indirect ways that don’t require actually being near someone is probably a blessing to most introverts. It also accounts for how they can miraculously avoid going out as much and socializing in “typical” fashion.
They Relieve Loneliness in Small Doses
Let’s say you need at least an hour socializing with friends to feel like it’s a good amount of time. That amount of time can vary depending on the person and who they’re interacting with. Spending time with people you know is more likely to make you feel relaxed and let the time tick away. On the other hand, if you’re with strangers you could be less talkative and ready to move on to the next thing in your day a lot faster.
For introverts, relieving loneliness could take significantly less time because they know how much time they need to feel sufficiently socialized. They could have a group of people that they feel comfortable with that understand their needs. For instance, if they only need to socialize in doses rather than hours or multiple times a day.
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Antoinette Maven
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