Kosfeld 1 Mallory Kosfeld Dr.

Erin Dietel-McLaughlin Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric, Section 09 10 November 2013 Introversion and Its Relationship with Technology Usage With each technological advancement the human race presents to the world, there are critics who assert the invention will cause introversion within our future generations. There are many faults to this claim; one which highly offends approximately a third of the worlds population. Introversion is not a personality trait that should be looked down upon. Many influential people in the world were introverted in nature, like Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, and Rosa Parks. These people were not anti-social, but were just quiet and contemplative. Also, technology should not be something looked upon in disgust either. Many lives have been saved, enhanced, and healed due to the vast benefits todays technology provides. And as for humanitys future generations, multiple studies have proven that technology has little effect on children. Dr. Kestenbaum of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine conducted a study that came to this same conclusion. His study showed that adolescents that often play video games are not more neurotic than other children, nor are they more likely to be socially withdrawn, introverted or more prone to use fantasy as an escape from their problems, (Collins). Its even predicted that the future generations will likely have the ability to multitask and analyze information at a much quicker pace than the people of today, (Abernethy). These points prove that it is false to say frequency in technology usage makes introverts become antisocialites.

Kosfeld 2 Introverts are often seen as unsocial beings who try to avoid interaction with other people as much as possible, which is a long-told lie has been heavily integrated into daily life. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) (a widely used book about mental disorders) considers the fear of public speaking to be a pathology, a disease. (Cain 31), and considers introversion to be a major contributing factor to the diagnosis of this fear, and many other disorders like it. Introverted Disorder of Children even has its own Diagnosis Code to use for medical billing purposes. This association has overshadowed the true meaning of what introversion is. It is untrue to say that the average introverted person does not enjoy other peoples company. The truth is: they just find long periods of constant socialization to be tiring. Its myth that introverts do not like to talk; they actually prefer meaningful conversations with small groups of people over petty gossip at a big party. Unlike extroverts, who absorb energy through social interaction, introverts must expel energy to socialize. Most tend to compromise with this issue of exhaustion by participating in short bursts of social activity, and then allow some time alone to recover. This exhaustion can be daunting to some introverts and can result in shyness or social anxiety, but those feelings can be (and are often) experienced by extroverts as well. The people experiencing this shyness and social anxiety are human beings, too, who are born with instinct to be social creatures. On page 1638 of Pierces article about technological communication among teens, she says They may find it difficult to fulfill this social need because of their fear of face-to-face interactions and may therefore turn to [technological interaction]. Many people choose to turn to video games for their socialization fix. Video games are a common target for critics, because they are often assumed to be violent, a waste of time, and an

Kosfeld 3 overall negative impact on a childs education. However, the truth behind video games is that they are shown to have more positive effects than negative ones. According to the Chinese University of Hong Kong, kids --introverted and extroverted alike-- are developing friendships and nurturing vital social skills while they are online gaming (Business Recorder). In addition to this, many popular games among kids require teamwork with their friends to obtain higher scores. Common mental effects seen in children who play video games is an increase in life satisfaction, and a boost of self-esteem, which can result in more confidence during interaction in person, (Business Insider). Quick reflexes, both mentally and physically, are important and are mastered easily with the help of gaming. Kids can gain these benefits whether they are plying in the same room as their friends, or playing in different locations and being mediated by the internet. The exercise of their ability to work with others, even if just by playing online games, will vastly benefit them in the future when they are succeeding in their careers. It is commonly known that team sports help kids become cooperative with peers, why wouldnt video games have the same effect? There is one additional benefit that video game socialization holds for an introvert, and that is the ability to interact with others without the stress of face-to-face communication. For the average introvert, the effort to constantly be aware and ready to respond in the conversations, wear appropriate facial expressions, and not look like they are being mentally drained is mentally draining. Many of these stressful qualities of old-fashioned communication can be eliminated through more comfortable types of interaction, like online gaming and other forms of computermediated communication, or CMC. There are two types of CMC, synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous communication is communication conducted in real time, like voice calls or face-to-face interaction, while asynchronous communication is slower and gives people

Kosfeld 4 more time to think of what to say, like emails and letter writing (Madell 139). Many video games are considered synchronous, because the childrens teams will work in real time to accomplish their goals. These can be more exhausting to an introvert than asynchronous games, but both kinds of games can help introverts feel more comfortable about the social interaction by taking away many tiring qualities of face-to-face interaction. The video game is not the only type of technology that critics attack. Social media has expanded tremendously in just a few short years, and some people believe that it is becoming too much of a part of everyday life. They fear that kids are putting too much personal information on the internet, allowing sexual offenders to easily target the children of today. The truth of the matter is that most adolescents set their social media accounts to the private setting, which prevents people from seeing their information unless that person has previously been approved as a friend. According to a study conducted on approximately 9000 Myspace accounts by the Journal of Adolescence, only 8.8 percent of users revealed their name, 4 percent revealed their instant messaging screen name, 1 percent included an e-mail address, and 0.3 percent revealed their telephone number, (Subrahmanyam 123). This helps prove that it is far too difficult for predators to target children through online social media. The benefits that social media provides for introverts are vast. A big plus to participating in one of these sites is the asynchronous traits it has. Posting statuses and private messaging people takes more time than talking to someone in person, which gives the introvert a quick rest from the interaction, allowing a greater period of socialization in the long run. This is a lot less tedious on an introvert than if the conversation was face-to-face, where there are heightened levels of psychic, sensory, and emotional involvement and arousal, increased cognitive load, competing conversational and relational demands, [and] differential salience of context cues

Kosfeld 5 (Madell 140). This exercise of partaking in long, yet untiring interactions can help introverts improve their social stamina, enabling them to remain in social settings for increased periods of time. Shy and introverted people tend to feel lonely more frequently than the average person, and often turn to the internet to get their socialization fix. These people take advantage of social media and its ability to increase [ones] confidence in communicating with others face-to-face, due to a perception of social support online (Pierce 1368). This means that the perception of having a large number of friends assists many people in boosting their courage to strike up conversations in person. For example, there was this little girl (lets say her name was Anne) who was always considered The Quiet One. Whether it was around her family, her teammates, or her classmates, she was The Quiet One. Her parents even tested her for autism, for she often refused to talk to even the closest of family members. Anne had always been a bright, contemplative girl, obtaining the highest grades in the class on a regular basis. She was well rounded, participating in sports teams, dance lessons, and piano lessons, often within the same season. She was kind and respectful to everyone she crossed paths with, but her number of friends was usually countable on one hand. The other classmates often saw her as weird, different. Through elementary school and most of middle school, socializing was tough for Anne. She did not get invited to many events, and when she did she often turned them down, afraid that she would be too tired to be sociable. She got tired of feeling lonely, so she signed up for a Facebook account. After a while, her Facebook friend list started to grow. She saw what her peers were doing, and sometimes, when she mustered the courage, would like their statuses. She even began updating her own

Kosfeld 6 statuses, and her peers would like them, which would fill her with pure joy. She began commenting on statuses of the people who liked hers, and they would respond back to her. Her growing confidence over Facebook began to show in school as well. Instead of avoiding eye contact with others in school hallways, Anne would walk chin up, and look for anyone she knew who looked at her, and would make sure to smile at them as she walked by. They were subtle smiles, but they soon became more confident, with an added wave, and sometimes a quiet hello. She became confident enough to ask classmates questions, whether about homework or what theyve been up to. She would raise her hand in class, a sight previously unseen. She began to accept invites to birthday parties and sleepovers, which came more frequently than before. Anne finally began to feel accepted, not alone. She had built up the confidence to speak up and socialize with the help of Facebook. Anne is still the quiet, introverted girl she has always been, but she has a newfound confidence in herself, that would not have been discovered without the help of the social media sphere. It would have been extremely difficult for her to make friends without first practicing socialization online, because she would not have had the social stamina to maintain the relationship in a healthy manner. She would have a tough time keeping the friend close enough to want to stay, showing that "online friendship is especially important to those who are extremely shy or introverted - those who have difficulties making friends in real life," (Business Insider). What critics need to understand is this: if kids are too shy to interact with others faceto-face, they will either socialize in a setting comfortable to them, or they will just not interact at all. Instead of frowning down upon video games, social media, and other technological advancements, and framing them in a negative light, people should focus on the positives it can

Kosfeld 7 provide for themselves and the people around them. Doubters should step into an introverted childs perspective, and see that technology is in fact helping these children who struggle with one of the basic traits humans are born with, socialization. They should see that video games implant the skills needed for these children to work and problem-solve with their peers, and increase their satisfaction with what they can achieve. Also, Social Media is a new atmosphere of socialization that should be seen for what it can provide humanity. It holds the capability to let introverts practice communication in a comfortable setting, allowing them to gain social stamina, to be used in face-to-face situations. The main benefit that applies to both is the ability to give the user a sense of confidence. Without confidence, one cant obtain the courage to socialize, and they will start to feel lonely. Frankly, all newly discovered and quickly growing phenomena are bound to have doubters. These doubters will try their best to focus on the petty negatives when there are plenty of positives to be found, and many more just waiting to be discovered. If they refuse to look at how these tools of interaction can positively affect the people who need it, then they should try to view it as essentially neutral, for it's what we do with the tools that decides how they affect us and those around us,'' (Klass). It is possible for people to use technology for the wrong reasons, whether to hurt others or even themselves. This handful of people misusing a tool with positive potential should not have the right to give such a helpful tool a bad name.

Kosfeld 8 Works Cited "Video Games Help Shy Youngsters Build Social Skills. " Business Recorder (2010)Print. Abernethy, Michael. "Study explores how Internet, technology affect young people. " TimesNews [Burlington, NC] 5 Mar. 2012. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking. New York : Crown Publishers, 2012. Print. Collins, Glenn. "RELATIONSHIPS CHILDREN AND VIDEO GAMES. (Style Desk). " The New York times (1985). Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. Klass, Perri. "Seeing Social Media More as Portal than as Pitfall. New York Times 10 Jan. 2012: D5(L). Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. Madell, Dominic. "Control Over Social Interactions: An Important Reason for Young People's use of the Internet and Mobile Phones for Communication?" Cyberpsychology behavior 10. 1 (2007): 137-40. Print. Pierce, Tamyra. "Social Anxiety and Technology: Face-to-Face Communication Versus Technological Communication among Teens. " Computers in Human Behavior 25. 6 (2009): 1367-72. Print. Subrahmanyam, Kaveri. "Online Communication and Adolescent Relationships. " The Future of Children 18. 1 (2008): 119-46. Print.