Instant Messaging For Introverts

adamengst tips an article up on TidBITS that explores the persistent reluctance of many nerds to embrace fully new communications media such as IM and Twitter. In this thoughtful article Joe Kissell explores, from the inside, the mind of the introvert and how this personality style often struggles with new "always-on" media. The result is a sometimes exasperated incomprehension on the part of the more extroverted. Well worth a read.

Comments

Not necessarily introverts

[iBod]

Anyone who wants or needs to concentrate suffers from the constant barrage of interruptions from this 'always on' technology.

IM, Cellphones, SMS etc. It seems to be expected now that everyone should be instantly contactable, at any time, for the most trivial of communications.

I'm not an introvert, but prefer to be uninterrupted unless it's something really important.

I annoy people by not playing the game, by turning off my cellphone, not running an IM client (unless I want to specifically talk to someone), only checking my email twice a day etc.

The constant jabbering and twittering that surrounds us now really pisses me off. QUIET please!

Re:Not necessarily introverts

[v1]

Not entirely on topic but people need to learn to live without their cell phones. A few people I know, anywhere they go, anything they're doing, their phone is ringing. usually several times. And they always have to answer it. We can be playing a multiplayer game and they'll just stop playing to answer the phone, sometimes costs us the game.

No amount of heckling them about their constantly having to answer the phone seems to help.

"I have to answer it. What if it's an important call? What if my wife just got in a car accident or something?" You can't reason with them.

Re:Not necessarily introverts

[morgan_greywolf]

What if it's an important call? What if my wife just got in a car accident or something? That's why I have an established emergency protocol with my family members. If they call and I don't answer the phone, I'm busy, so leave a voice or text message. If it's an emergency, either put 911 in your callback number or 911 in your text message.

Re:Not necessarily introverts

[smilindog2000]

Sometimes it is introverts. My ex-wife suffered from both panic disorder and social phobia. I found a great web site with hundreds to thousands of insightful posts about living with panic disorder. On the same host, I found a single post about social phobia:

"Is anyone out there?"

Re:introverts and IM

[Bogtha]

I know a lot of people that are socially very shy in public, that practically live in IM or WOW etc.

Shyness and introversion are two different things. Introversion is a preference for being alone. Shyness is when somebody feels anxiety around other people.

IM and other virtual communication can be good at alleviating the anxiety shy people feel, enabling them to socialise frequently, but it isn't going to do anything for an introvert who doesn't want to socialise frequently.

Re:Sorry but the first half of that long post

[R2.0]

I carpool with a guy that is going through an amicable divorce that is turning messier by the day. She communicate a LOT by text message - not "Pick up some milk" but "I think we should go to counseling" and "I hate you and I never want to talk to you again". Texting has given her the ability to vomit out all her surface thoughts without the burden of reflection or instant feedback from a face to face conversation. Lovely.