Introverts vs. Extroverts: A Double-Standard?

TheWaffle said:

Asking people why they are quiet is usually taken to be a question stemming from concern and/or curiosity (though it is annoying), while asking someone why are loud almost equates to "why are you so annoying? shut the fuck up."

Click to expand...

I see why it's viewed that way. It's unfortunate though, because it's essentially asking the same question.

Just gonna play devil's advocate here, and turn the tables. Why is it that when a person thinks really well on their own but aren't benefited by the company of others, that's a good thing and you call that "independence", but when a person thinks their best when other people are around and doesn't think so well alone, they are criticized as needy?

I was pondering something like this earlier. I was reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, and I noticed that again and again the term introvert was used with a negative connotation. It would often appear as a diagnosis, alongside mental disorders like schizophrenia, with the implication that being introverted was just as 'not normal' or 'not right'.

Now, it could easily be the problem of the translation (any Swedes in here care to help?), but I wonder if the idea of being introverted itself being positively bad is a recurring thing in reality?

Owfin said:

Just gonna play devil's advocate here, and turn the tables. Why is it that when a person thinks really well on their own but aren't benefited by the company of others, that's a good thing and you call that "independence", but when a person thinks their best when other people are around and doesn't think so well alone, they are criticized as needy?

Click to expand...

Oh, thank you for the counter-argument and new perspective! You shouldn't be considered the devil's advocate for providing proof against a person's statement, because all your'e doing is helping them find faults in their argument, and therefore helping everyone get closer the the truth. I definitely see that double-standard as well. And now, it seems that quite a few of the same nature are also in existence.
So I suppose the real thing to wonder is that why do people of different opinions or natures describe each other with words that carry certain stigmas? Why aren't all adjectives for all kinds of people of equal connotation?

I have never been asked why I'm so loud. I can be loud, and yes, I've gotten some annoyed looks when I was younger for being a giggly high school girl, but more often than not, I've been asked why I'm so quiet. Volume level isn't necessarily associated with introversion or extroversion. I had some introverted friends who were obnoxiously loud at times. I get embarrassed if I get called out on being loud; consequently, I've become rather quiet, to the point where people can't hear me sometimes. Haters gonna hate, you just get over these little annoyances.

Coppertony said:

It would often appear as a diagnosis, alongside mental disorders like schizophrenia, with the implication that being introverted was just as 'not normal' or 'not right'.

Click to expand...

Being descended from primates with a strong social instinct, from a certain subconscious perspective, introversion isn't normal.

That being said, I think @TheWaffle used the right syrup for this sticky situation. The heart of the question is the same either way, the difference is the perception of the underlying motivation to ask it.