I'm not sure it's actually all that new. Looking back on my blog at some of the "Personality Tests" from way back when there was something of a theme there, too.
My hunch about any particular present upsurge is that it's part of the broader meme of, "Hey, geeks/nerds are cool and, actually, in charge of the world now." Part of that is a conflation of geeks/nerds with introverts — which is demonstrably untrue in at least a minority of cases, but has a certain amount of plausibility, since most of the geek/nerd friends I've had have been introverts (or at least been socially isolated from the rest of the herd, which isn't necessarily the same thing, but work with me here), while the hated football-swilling, noogie-administering, BMOC-swaggering jock types were all clearly extroverts …
(Note: see the article, which is tongue-in-cheek, but plays beautifully into the "extroversion is normal, Freakazoid, and, what's that you're doing, reading a book, Poindexter?" old school stereotypes.)
So since geeks/nerds now rule (yay, Internet!), then maybe now, for one brief moment in human history, everyone wants to be an introvert. And since the term geek, nerd, and introvert is open to wide application, well, that makes it easy to do. Yay, tribe!
Now, I do have some quasi-legit basis for saying that I have introvertish features (I usually peg out the "I" on the Meyers-Brigg so hard it drills a hole in the paper), and nobody'd better claim I don't have geek/nerd cred (here's my Geek Code CV, if you want to know, and if you don't agree, I shall taunt you a second time).
But I'm also not one of those who (well, not without an ironic self-deprecating smile) longs for the day when it was all a more exclusive club (no, I really don't — and I think it both wildly cool and a bit wistful that, from a geek/nerd perspective, Kay and all her friends and a goodly percentage of her friends' parents are into "Doctor Who").
Anyway, yay, Introverts! We're here, we're full of fear, and we're not going away. Actually, we'll be over there in a small huddle congratulating ourselves on not being so loud and, maybe, if that overlap thing is true, speculating on Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and how John Hurt fits into the occasion, but don't worry, we'll probably shut up about it if you come over and want to watch the football game on TV, at least until the Revolution comes …
Reshared post from +Doyce Testerman
I've nothing at all against introverts.
… I might have something against the spiral of Introvert Quizzes going around the last couple weeks.
15 Unmistakable, Outrageously Secret Signs You’re an Extrovert
In recent weeks, introverts have been receiving a lot of attention on the internet, which they hate. Just kidding–they love attention! Talking about, reading about, and Facebook-sharing about introverts are an introvert’s favorite things to do.
Ooh, yes, that definitely warranted its own post. I have to admit to a vague feeling that proudly announcing your introversion is a bit.. contradictory, but it's just a feeling. I think `social media' opened up a space where introverts could connect and socialize comfortably – with time to think, without making all that noise, without having to be in someone else's space. All this `having friends' and `liking things', that less introverted people have been doing all along, is suddenly convenient for our psyche, too.
I guess maybe proud announcements of being an introvert may be one of those things, too.
"`social media' opened up a space where introverts could connect and socialize comfortably – with time to think, without making all that noise, without having to be in someone else's space."
A perfect description of why I like social media as opposed to parties. Love it.
I don't see announcing one's introversion as the least bit contradictory. It's just finally become acceptable not to be a person who likes constant intrusion by other people.
And, introvert/extrovert is really on scale, from what I observe. One might observe that ***Dave, from his descriptions, is an introvert at times. And yet, he participated in debate, in front of people, and argued for his position. I grant that the situation is controlled, but many people’s greatest fear (some of them extroverts) is speaking in public. This is often not considered an introvert thing.
The longer I live, the more I see that most things in life are on a spectrum. I think the introvert side of the spectrum is just getting a little better PR of late.