Does society favor extroverts? (A Complete Guide)

In this article, we will discuss Does society favors extroverts?. We will do that by discussing in detail how extroverted qualities help people to advance in their careers, schools, admissions, and romantic life. We will also explain how introverts adapt to a corporate world that demands extroverted qualities.

Does society favor extroverts? 

Yes, society favors extroverts more. This is because extroverted qualities help people to make a good first impression on others due to their confident attitude and good skills in expressing their ideas. This makes it easier for them to land good jobs, get admissions in colleges, internships, grades, and do well in group activities and public speaking tasks. It also helps them build their social network quite easily and find romantic partners as well. Introverts are at a disadvantage in these areas. In order to survive, they have to learn to be more extroverted to fulfill the demands of our world.

Extroverts in Job interviews

Imagine a situation where do people come for a job interview. Let’s call them person A and person B. Person A is an outgoing and talkative person who is able to express his ideas in an articulate manner. He gives the impression that he is hard-working and passionate about what he does. He is able to connect with an interviewer at a personal level because he is able to be comfortable in his presence and even make jokes. Furthermore, his body language is relaxed and he seems confident and self-assured.

Compared to him, person B seems nervous especially as his body language is tensed and he seems to be sitting uncomfortably in the chair. He talks in a low tone and with less energy. He answers the interviewer’s questions in a direct manner but does not add any emotional or personal component. He is not able to connect with the interviewer at a personal level. He seems less confident and less sure about what he says.

Now, I want you to ask yourself who is the most likely to get the job between person A and person B? The answer is most likely that person A would get the job because he has the skills to market himself, communicate articulately, and easily socialize with the interviewer. Another important reason for this is that employers make the first impression, the basis of their judgment. So people like person A are able to take the advantage of such an opportunity. They are able to turn their thoughts into sentences and are comfortable being themselves with others. They can use their friendly and charismatic persona to cash the opportunity presented to them. 

Extroverts in college admissions

According to Susan Cain, the author of ‘Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking’, extroverted people are favored in school and work settings as well. Even college admissions filter out those people who are not quite expressive and vocal. Admission recruiters prefer students who have leadership skills and are energetic. So, these roles usually go to extroverts. When prior experience is inquired, usually, extroverts have the experience of working in leadership roles in the past, unlike introverts. So in a way, the ability to socialize is evaluated if one wants to improve their college application and get validated by recruiters as someone qualified.

Extroverts in internships, job fairs, grades

When does get admission into a college, in order to get internships, grades and compete with others at an academic level, it is important for one to have extroverted quantities if a person wants to advance and achieve these accomplishments. Career fairs also make it difficult to get introverted people the chance of getting an internship.

Even academic activities are based on group settings. Extroverts do well in group discussions and are able to brainstorm ideas by talking to other people. However, this can be difficult for introverts who function best when they have to work on a task alone without people serving as sources of distraction. Another reason is that introverts process ideas better by thinking them in their minds, unlike extroverts who process ideas by talking it out with people. So, when grades are based on how well one performs in a group, introverts are at a disadvantage and extroverts take the lead. Similarly, presentations and public speaking activities are advantageous for extroverts and disadvantages for introverts.

Extroversion: Cultural Bias

Susan Cain argues that extroverts have geared society towards them and introverts have been largely ignored. The main distinction between extroverts and introverts is how they respond to social stimulation. So introverts prefer environments that are less stimulated compared to extroverts who crave stimulation in order to be their best self. Introversion does not mean one is asocial or does not like people. It is just a preference to gain energy.

She also suggests that cultural DNA is the reason why extroverts are preferred over introverts. This is because western society is rotating around people who can speak well and doing well in businesses while competing with other companies. People who are charismatic and magnetic are the demand of the market. Even our media selects actors and singers who are able to charm other people, be flashy and fabulous enough for the audience. They look for people who can increase their rating.

Furthermore, it is natural when extroverts are heads of certain companies and businesses, they are likely to be attracted to other extroverts and give them jobs and chances to advance. Extroversion-introversion discrimination is similar to gender discrimination where men are favored over women in corporate cultures. It is something that is deeply ingrained in society and not easy to uproot.

So, if we want introverts to survive in the present world, it is important for them to learn to be extroverted. In other words, ‘Fake it till you make it’ needs to become their new life motto. They need to push themselves to speak more confidently and openly. They need to be expressive with their ideas and speak their mind if they want to be noticed and survive. With time, the skill to be extroverted can get easy for introverts to master. As they get more exposed and comfortable with the idea of stimulating environments, they can learn to switch on and switch off their extrovert mode. Although it requires them to invest their energy, it helps them in situations where they are required to act unlike themself.

There is a theory that with time and age, one moves towards achieving stability in personality characteristics. So usually, Extroverts become more introverted with time as their professional and romantic life becomes more stable. Their energy also lowers down with age and they prefer spending time away from people and not engage in a lot of parties like in their youth. Surprisingly, the level of introversion in introverts remains the same.

Although this sounds advantageous for introverts, it does not really matter in the long run because the qualities of extraversion are in dire need when one is in the prime of their youth and looking to get jobs and build their social circle. Even finding a romantic partner is easier for extroverts due to the same reason i.e. they are able to make favorable first impressions. Whereas, for introverts, other people have to invest their time and energy to slowly peel off their layers to find their hidden attraction.

FAQs: Does society favor extroverts?

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed Does society favors extroverts?. We found that Yes, society favors extroverts more. This is because extroverted qualities help people to make a good first impression on others due to their confident attitude and good skills in expressing their ideas. This makes it easier for them to land good jobs, get admissions in colleges, internships, grades, and do well in group activities and public speaking tasks. It also helps them build their social network quite easily and find romantic partners as well. Introverts are at a disadvantage in these areas. In order to survive, they have to learn to be more extroverted to fulfill the demands of our world.

If you’ve enjoyed the ”Does society favor extroverts?” mentioned above, I would recommend you to take a look at ”Can an extrovert be antisocial?” too.

 I hope you found this article interesting. If you have any queries or comments, please state them in the comment section 😊

Citations

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/apr/01/susan-cain-extrovert-introvert-interview