Being an introvert and shy the same thing!

Is being an introvert and being shy the same thing? The answer to the above question is ‘Not at all’. Whenever people are asked to give an opinion or are delegated a job that requires them to talk, some of them often just shy away and blame their introversion.

I see students attending different webinars in Zoom meetings nowadays. If there’s any confusion in understanding something or if someone is being asked a question by the speaker, the person chooses to be silent rather than being vocal about his confusion or answering the question. Is that introversion? Of course not! It’s called ‘being disrespectful’.

How many of you have seen your friend being confused at some point in the middle of a lecture and still not being able to muster up the courage to deal with his query by himself? He may tell you to ask questions on his behalf. That’s not introversion. That’s shyness.

Introverts enjoy being with themselves and that doesn’t mean they don’t socialize. Some of the world’s renowned introverts have great social skills. They can be with people, but all they need is some ‘recharge time’ to regain all their drained energy. Shy people on the other hand are afraid to socialize. While an introvert chooses a chore over another, a shy person is fearful of a chore over another.

Introversion is a personality trait and shyness is something that can be changed over time. So from the next time, when you give an excuse of being an introvert when asked to do something outgoing, know that you’re delusional about introversion. You’re just shy.

The writer is currently studying Mechanical Engineering at Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology