So, “It’s okay if they just sit on the sofa arm eating chips,” Rebecca Makkai wrote in her July 14 Friday Opinion Essay, “Covid flipped the introvert-extrovert script. And I hate it.”
It appears that Ms. Makkai is fine with putting the onus on the introverts of her acquaintance to keep her social events at critical mass for her extrovert self and at the expense of the introverts’ comfort. And this is caring and considerate how?
I think I learned a lot about my introvert self during the two years away from on-site work and felt as if I forged more and better relationships when we went back. Both of us are better off if you don’t give me grief when I don’t stay until the bitter end of a party or show up for every excuse for a gathering. Yes, once a month is about right.
And, please, don’t excoriate us introverts with the study numbers showing what “healthy” social interactions should be. Think of it as you would a prescription drug: What is good for one patient might be not good, and possibly downright unhealthy, for another. Individual party tolerance might vary.
I suspect many introverts have gained agency in the level of “introvertedness” they’ve managed to define for themselves since covid restrictions eased. So, don’t expect us to do anything less than calmly blocking you when your memes get too loud.
Elizabeth Allman, Washington
