Video Discription |
Do humans need to socialize? Human beings are typically understood to be social creatures. After all, if we were solitary by nature, we wouldn’t group ourselves together into civilizations, workplaces, friend groups, and families. For the most part, it would seem that humans enjoy being around each other and the act of being social. But do we really need each other? And what about introverts, who prefer to spend large amounts of free time by themselves instead of engaging in social activities? In other words, do human beings really need to socialize? That’s one topic that Bestie is setting out to investigate today.
#Socialize #PersonalityType #Introvert
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Summary:
Humans are generally understood to be social creatures; however, it can also be said that some of us are certainly a lot more voluntarily social than others. This is the major difference between the two groups of people known as introverts and extroverts: on one hand, you have introverts, who prefer to spend free time by themselves and sometimes feel emotionally drained when interacting with others. On the other, you have extroverts, who enjoy being around other people and thrive in social situations, but may not be as content during moments of solitude. But what about people who find themselves separated from other people for extended periods of time, even longer than your average introvert spends by themselves? Would they be able to function normally without human contact, or would constant solitude and loneliness have a major effect on that person’s long-term physical and mental health?
In Gregory Smithsimon’s book Cause...and How it Doesn’t Always Equal Effect, one of the topics Smithsimon discusses is whether or not a person would be able to function. As an example, Smithsimon writes about the story of Robinson Crusoe, written by Daniel Defoe in 1919. The original novel tells the story of a man who becomes stranded on a deserted island after a shipwreck, and as a result, is forced to become entirely self-sufficient as a means of survival. While many came to romanticize this idea of perfect solitude, Smithsimon points out something interesting: the character of Robinson Crusoe is believed to be inspired by a real-life figure by the name of Henry Pitman. Like Crusoe in the novel, Pitman became stranded on an island, but not by himself: thirteen other survivors were also shipwrecked along with him. Had Pitman truly been alone like the character he would come to inspire, things may not have gone so well for him.
In his article for Psychology Today, therapist Jonathan Foiles also shares his musings on whether or not a person would be able to survive with their sanity intact if kept in complete isolation. In the article, Foiles writes about working with several patients who were subjected to solitary confinement, a punishment employed by prisons and similar establishments that cuts a person off from all other human contacts for extended periods of time. According to Foiles, the effects of long-term solitary confinement can lead to mental health-related symptoms such as “hallucinations, mood swings, and loss of impulse control”, as well as other forms of long-term psychological scarring. Foiles also points out that the effects of solitary confinement aren’t only experienced by prisoners; the negative effects of long-term isolation can also be felt by hospital patients whose conditions render them unable to leave their beds for long periods of time, as well.
Another perpetrator responsible for negative amounts of isolation, according to Foiles, are the rapid technological advances and conveniences we have created for ourselves as a species. While the therapist does point out that many of our technological devices can be beneficial and enjoyable, they also may contribute to decreased amounts of face-to-face interactions with other humans. Foiles points out how modern conveniences like television, air conditioning, and the Internet have made it more enticing for us to stay at home, stay indoors and keep to ourselves, even at the expense of our mental health through lack of socialization. In addition, Foiles’s article points out that the rise of the Internet and lack of personal, face-to-face levels of interaction has also led to the spread of misinformation and propagation of conspiracy theories, which he describes as “a poor man’s way of building community separating the world into those with secret knowledge and the masses without”.
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