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Introverts and extroverts see the world very differently, but they’re both loveable in their own unique ways. However, being an introvert isn’t easy, as these memes, collected by our people-and-cat-loving Bored Panda team, will show you. Remember to upvote the ones that you related to the most as you scroll down and be sure to check our our earlier post about introvert memes right here.

However, the world of introversion and extroversion is much more complex than it would first seem. Real introverts and extroverts are far rarer than we think; extroversion is actually a spectrum, not binary; and the vast majority of us are actually ambiverts, falling somewhere in the middle.

Bored Panda previously spoke about the myths surrounding introversion with Dr. Andrew Spark from the Queensland University of Technology. Dr. Spark, who has researched the link between introversion and leadership, explained to us that introverts think about social interaction differently from extroverts and this may impact their career paths and positions.

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Kristal
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah. Gave my therapist a good laugh when I told her I've been practicing quarantine for years before Covid. Seriously, it is a mind boggle to have doctors and therapists giving me pity looks when describing my daily routine (then giving social suggestions) to having them congratulating me for my daily routine.

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“My research on introversion and leadership focuses on how introverts and extroverts think and feel about the behaviors required of leaders in leadership situations. Leadership roles typically require one to act in ways that are generally better suited to extroverts (e.g., to be assertive, social, bold, etc.),” Dr. Spark from the Queensland University of Technology told Bored Panda.

“For many decades, we have known that extroverts tend to perform better in leadership roles and are selected into leadership roles more often, however, more recent scientific work has been exploring how and why this happens,” Dr. Spark said.

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Two Silly Pups
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

THIS. Also, I have this one friend who never replies via text but just HAS TO call back... Ughhh...

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River Webb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

its like making a zoom call for something that can be concluded via email

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“In my own work, my colleagues and I found that one of the reasons introverts are not seen to be as ‘leaderlike’ by others is because they think that leadership situations are going to be unpleasant. The technical name for this is ‘affective forecasting.’ Affective forecasting refers to the expectation we have of our future emotions, which is to say that we make a prediction about how we will feel in a future situation.”

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Dr. Spark continued: “Introverts are known to underpredict how good they will feel in future social interactions if they forecast themselves acting extroverted (because, perhaps surprisingly, acting extroverted is actually quite enjoyable, even for introverts). Given leadership situations require extroverted behavior, we expected that introverts’ propensity to forecast more negative affect would probably help to explain why they do not rise into leadership positions as much as extroverts. This is indeed what we found.”

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MRSS
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is my worst Nightmare. While I would love to Live with and Marry my Girlfriend, we both value or alone time and silence, fortunately we both respect that we need that time alone.

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von Krawall
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The trick is to find the one person that doesn't annoy you, even if they are around. My husband is a total introvert, but if I spend the evening in another room than him he misses me. I guess I'm this one person. But I do prefer to not talk in the evening 😄

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Maria Rodriguez
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh see me and my guy got this squared away. We live separately, when I go to his place, I show up early so I can get a good parking spot, when he gets home he goes in showers calls his parents in mexico, watches some tv then txts me when he is ready for me to come up, meanwhile I sit in my car reading a book. We love this arrangement. We speak about cohabitation, we would each have our own rooms. We love the hell out of eachother, but we love our own space.

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Max
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just want to cat with my beloved. We sit on the same sofa, leaning on each other, doing our own thing.

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K.
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I want someone who is comfortable with awkward silences.

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Nikki Owens
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you're both introverts, though, it's ok. You're on the same wavelength.

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Starfall
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My husband & I just celebrated our 21st anniversary. We are both very much introverts & require our alone/quiet time. It's absolutely doable! I promise! No bloodshed in 21 years!

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Bored Birgit
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sigh, lucky you, we have 21 years as well, but hubby unfortunately is like a radio, talking all the time. I often leave the room because of this. Or pretend to be asleep or reading.

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OnlyMyOpinion
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Haha, I came home from work this evening and was glad my husband was resting in bed so he didn't talk to me.

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Sophie Mausz
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whenever I get home from anything, my fam knows they're not allowed to come into my cave until I open the door again.

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The_tattered_hippie
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes! I love my husband but he always wants to talk when we get into bed (I see him several hours before bed and we talk about our day etc) It’s like.... I’ve had to talk all day... this is my non talking time 😩

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Robin Childers
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or first thing of the morning, someone talking, asking questions.

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Isabella
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Meh. Marry an introvert [you;ll be unhappy with anyone extrovert either way] and provide separate Alone Room for two. Works like a charm for me :P

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lakitha tolbert
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Imagine getting up n the morning and somebody wants to talk to you. My mom is like this! My eyes just opened, like, a minute ago and she wanna talk like I been up all day. I gotta ease into conversation...after several hours of silence....

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Annah Kerins
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or you married them, and it’s time limitedconversation. 😂😉

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Id row
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then marry someone who understands you need to decompress and have alone time sometimes.

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Jjjane20
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't like talking in the morning. I love quiet mornings.

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Annabell
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait until you have kids. This plus Corona makes no me-time anytime.

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Sami
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My bf has ADHD. This can be a 3-4 hour ordeal for me sometimes.

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The main question right now is whether or not we can change how introverts think about social interaction. That way, they might stand a better chance of rising to leadership positions. In fact, according to Dr. Spark, sometimes introverts can be much more effective than extroverts in those positions.

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Dr. Spark pointed out that introverts are by no means common. “Because extroversion is a continuum, most people actually fall somewhere around the middle of the continuum. These people are sometimes called ‘ambiverts,’” he said.

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W. 5
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fun fact: I CAN do all the stuff for other people but not myself.

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“Also, there is no official cut-off on someone’s score before they are said to be an extrovert or an introvert, however, as a very rough rule of thumb (assuming you really want to divide people up into categories) it would not be unreasonable to say that 15-20% of the population are noticeably extroverted and 15-20% of the population are noticeably introverted. The remaining 60-70% of the population are probably more difficult to pigeon hole and hence may be better thought of as ambiverts.”

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What’s more, Dr. Spark drew attention to another myth surrounding introverts and how they supposedly can’t be extroverted. “A large body of evidence shows that introverted people actually engage in quite a number of extroverted behaviors in their daily lives as the specific situation demands, despite having a preference to be quiet and reserved. Equally, extroverted people engage in quite a number of introverted behaviors in their daily lives. That said, it is interesting that extroverted people have been shown to sometimes struggle when having to act introverted.”

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Caroline
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's actually what I did yesterday. I watched JonBenet documentary instead of meeting my friend, my excuse was stomach problem ^^'

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According to Dr. Spark, the research on whether or not introverts need to recharge more after socially interacting with others is mixed. “For example, in this study, scientists found that both introverts and extroverts experienced mental depletion after interacting with others and that this depletion occurred approximately 3 hours after the interaction It didn’t make any difference if the person was introverted or extroverted,” he shared.

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Then again, this study found that introverts experience slightly more negative emotion, tiredness and more feelings of inauthenticity when acting extroverted, despite also experiencing more positive emotion (note that positive and negative emotion are actually different processes rather than being polar opposites, so it is possible to be high on both). The jury is still out on this issue, which might come as a surprise to many!”

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Dr. Spark added: “A lot more research needs to be done to understand how and why introverts think differently and whether we can uncover ways to encourage introverts into leadership positions given that they are quite capable of effective leadership in certain situations.”

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What about you, dear Pandas? Which side of the introversion/extroversion fence do you find yourself most often on? Which of the memes in this list did you relate to the most? Has the global pandemic turned you into more of an introvert? Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments below.

#31

Introverts *visible Confusion*

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River Webb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yeah but you learn to hide the bodies well over time (speaking from experience)

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#34

Introverts Assemble!

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W. 5
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, and trying to sneak in the house hiding behind the bins until the coast is clear...

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zovjraar
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this is SO me! i have like, a time limit of how long i can be with people other than my husband. it maxes out at 4 hours. more people make it shorter. i've gone to sleep in the car because i was done but my husband was still socializing.

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#46

Well, In Our Defence. They Never Went Through A Zoom Meeting In Their Time 😂 ✨help Me Reach The 20k Follower Milestone 📈  Follow @introvertquirks 🌍
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Malek Basata
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

should i say it no no no I should be braver ok y e s yez no no no yis uhh yes finally ok lets unmute deep breath ym.y..yes?

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#48

Backpack Introvert Signature

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