How do you like to spend your free time, pandas? After a long day at work, are you itching to go get drinks with friends and spend an evening out at trivia night? Or would you rather curl up with your cat, a good book and nothing else but the sound of silence?
Everyone has different preferences and needs when it comes to social interactions, and there’s no right or wrong way to spend your time. But if you’re inclined to relax alone and recharge your social battery in peace, this list might be for you! We took a trip to the Introverted Me Instagram account and gathered some of their most relatable pics below. So enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote all of the memes that make you feel seen!
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The Introverted Me Instagram account has been around since March 2019, and it has amassed an impressive 114K followers. Despite the fact that you might not encounter many introverts in your daily life, there are plenty out there! In fact, Verywell Mind estimates that introverts make up between 25% and 40% of the population. Just because extroverts are often louder and more strongly represented in the media doesn’t mean that introverts aren’t mighty too!
I love spending time with my friends, but after an evening out, I will happily spend the next day not speaking to anyone. I need time to recharge my social battery, decompress and work up the strength to socialize again in the future. Being around other people can be exhausting, even if I had a great time, and I’m glad to know that there are plenty of other introverts out there who can relate (even if I won’t see them out and about in public).
I came around a corner at the Tower of London and this very attractive Spanish woman struck a pose, then looked at me like, "Come on idiot, snap the picture." So I did. She changed pose and looked even more annoyed and I was raising the camera a second time when it occurred to me to look behind me.
For a previous Bored Panda article, we were able to get in touch with Peter Vogt of Introvert Insights to hear his thoughts on what being introverted means to him. “It’s easiest to understand introverts and introversion by contrasting them against extroverts and extroversion,” he noted.
“Introversion and extroversion lie on opposite ends of a continuum, so there’s really no such thing as ‘an ' introvert or ‘an’ extrovert. In other words, you’re not either a 100% introvert or a 100% extrovert. We are all a mix of both traits,” Peter explained. “There are degrees of introversion and extroversion, and even those degrees fluctuate a bit in one particular person.”
I wait to avoid my lil sis...I love her soooo much but sometimes...lets just say she has the energy level of an angry bee.
“There are two basic differences between introverts and extroverts: Introverts are energized (and re-energized, when they’re tired) by solitude and alone time—time away from people. Whereas extroverts are energized (and re-energized, when they’re tired) by being with people,” Peter shared with Bored Panda.
Me reading a book while visiting family. "Why don't you be more social?" "Sure, turn off the TV and let's talk." ... Me reopening my book.
“Introverts prefer a lower-key, quieter environment that isn’t full of external stimulation—like lots of noise, for example, and lots of things happening that we pick up with our senses. Whereas extroverts prefer a more action-oriented environment that does feed the five senses,” he continued.
“In a nutshell: Introverts just prefer a quieter, lower-key life where they can focus on just a few things—or one thing—at a time, in depth. Extroverts prefer a more action-oriented, senses-pleasing life where they can be involved in lots of different things. One is not better than the other, by the way! They’re just different from each other.”
4 me it's sitting on the patio swing before my siblings wake up and starts tormenting me and watching the sunrise while reading. Pure. Heaven.
When it comes to the best parts of being introverted, Peter shared, “For me, the best part is knowing I’m capable of doing things on my own when I want or need to. Many introverts (me included) have an independent streak. Like any trait, this can be a blessing and a curse, depending on the situation and on whom you ask! But I treasure the fact that I can be my own entertainment and company. And it’s not ‘work’ or a hardship for me; it’s a joy.”
“I also enjoy digging into things deeply, which is another classic introvert trait. It helps me have deep conversations with people, learn about new subjects in great depth, and more,” Peter added.
The expert was also happy to dispel some common myths people tend to hold about introverts. “People—many extroverts especially, but many introverts themselves as well—think that if you’re an introvert, there is something fundamentally wrong with you,” he explained. “In Western society especially, extroverts and extroversion are put on a pedestal of sorts. Being an extrovert is the ‘right’ thing to be. The gold standard.”
"I despise people who ask me to share a fun fact about me. "
“I cannot begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard introverts say (about their introversion): ‘I always thought something must be wrong with me’ or ‘Something is wrong with me.’ It’s heartbreaking, because the typical response to such a belief is to try to change and become the extrovert you’re not,” Peter told Bored Panda.
“And that goes nowhere good. You end up unhappy at a minimum, and often you end up experiencing far worse (e.g., depression, anxiety)—because you feel like you’ve sold yourself down the river,” he continued. “So… if I could say something to introverts everywhere, I’d say this: ‘There’s nothing wrong with you! You’re simply an introvert!’”
Today I just met a former friend to whom I had cut contact years ago because, well, he was a manipulative narcisst and hurt a lot of peoples feelings. But because I literally walked into him I just played the game he started and talked for five minutes, even gave him a hug... and now I can't stop thinking why the fück I couldn't say what I really felt and thought... I just can't :(
We hope you’re getting a kick out of all of these introvert memes, pandas! Enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the ones that you find particularly relatable. Then, if you’re interested in bonding with even more introverts via internet memes, we recommend checking out this Bored Panda article next!
If it's meant to be, the love of my life will teleport into my living room
That was my Nanny - “‘of course you remember them they held you once when you weee 2 weeks old “
Me when I have to pause my tv show repeatedly because someone dares to have a text conversation with me
I'm lucly I found mine in graduate school, I doubt that I would have kept trying if we hadn't been pushed together by circumstance. I can't imagine how people do dating and apps and all that c**p.
This was me when my new financial advisor told me I could retire at any time. Less than an hour later, I sent in my notice, and it took me 30 minutes to drive home first.
Being introvert does NOT equal having social anxiety as so many of these memes seem to imply ::sigh:: You can be a total introvert with great social skills.
Again, a copy and paste from another site where people just post random memes with no understanding of what introvertism is. It's a personality trait. Being around bouncy, chatty, loud, shouty, exuberant folks just exhausts us. We are not necessarily shy, or have social anxiety, although these can overlap. We are (sometimes, often?) the quiet people who would prefer to read a book than go to a party.
And people can be both with a lot of overlap - it's not a binary thing like all the memes seem to imply. I know they're memes and not exactly... factual sources, but still XD I'm usually extroverted as heck and can strike up conversations with random strangers in person, but I can't even manage to make a phone call. I know they're just memes, but sometimes it's hard to identify with them since I'm not "fully" an introvert OR an extrovert.
Load More Replies...Being introvert does NOT equal having social anxiety as so many of these memes seem to imply ::sigh:: You can be a total introvert with great social skills.
Again, a copy and paste from another site where people just post random memes with no understanding of what introvertism is. It's a personality trait. Being around bouncy, chatty, loud, shouty, exuberant folks just exhausts us. We are not necessarily shy, or have social anxiety, although these can overlap. We are (sometimes, often?) the quiet people who would prefer to read a book than go to a party.
And people can be both with a lot of overlap - it's not a binary thing like all the memes seem to imply. I know they're memes and not exactly... factual sources, but still XD I'm usually extroverted as heck and can strike up conversations with random strangers in person, but I can't even manage to make a phone call. I know they're just memes, but sometimes it's hard to identify with them since I'm not "fully" an introvert OR an extrovert.
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