So I know this isn't the usual type of thing I put up here but I was perusing Reddit and found something that made want to rant a little.
This: http://sveidt.deviantart.com/art/How-to-Live-with-Introverts-Guide-Printable-320818879?q=gallery%3Asveidt%2F34464099&qo=3
For those disinclined to check the link it's a "guide" to how to deal with introverts and as an extrovert I find it offensive. In general, I strive to be a pretty easy going person but I'm tired of people thinking that extroverts are overbearing inconsiderate jerks.
This "amusing" guide basically tells us that introverts are hamster ball dwelling people who should be given special treatment and tiptoed around so that we "energy sucking" extroverts don't annoy and exhaust them. I don't have a problem with people needing their space, I have a problem with the idea that introverts deserve common courtesy and personal space more than extroverts. How is this list http://i.imgur.com/Xqg9M.jpg more applicable to introverts than extroverts? These are things that should be afforded to everyone, not just the introverted.
I love my introverted friends and I do my best to give them the space they need to recharge but is this (from this guide) really how you view us? "They tend to see extroverts as obnoxious predators out to steal their sweet, sweet energy juices... Interaction is just expensive and they don't want to spend it on something annoying (read: wasteful)... They won't spend their precious energy on someone who doesn't want them around" Guess what? I don't either, especially if you see spending time with me as draining and wasteful.
Maybe I'm over reacting a little but as someone who has been called "the most extroverted person I know" I feel a little misunderstood. I like time by myself. I like to sit at home and browse the internet, read a book, or even just lie on the grass and stare at the sky. I just don't like to do these things all the time. It exhausts me to spend all of my time alone. It's not because I don't like to be with myself but because being with people recharges me. (Sound familiar?)
I know this is getting kind of long so I'll wrap up. The point I want to make is that extroverts aren't the socially crazed people we're made out to be. We need common courtesy and personal space just as much as the introverts do. The only difference is that we need other people to help us recharge. So when you're done recharging can you call me for coffee so that I can recharge too?
