An article in
The Atlantic Monthly observed how, while technology (via the
industrial revolution) spurred a
quick-paced life encouraging
extrovert tendencies, the recent
movement of social interactions to the Internet has actually brought a reprieve for those favouring the introverted way of life.
"Moreover, people expect streamlined transfers of information. A text message, a Facebook message, a tweet -- each is a discrete, articulated piece of information being shared. Rather than riding the texture of a live conversation to figure out how to give and receive information, people are now used to simply pushing their thoughts out into the world, to be responded to at some undetermined future point. Even voicemail messages are now more often the point of a phone call than an actual conversation."
What I've been finding more-so as either time's moved on, and more people become familiar with these media, or as I've moved further from a technically focused educational program, is that this is actually becoming less of the case. As non-tech people get introduced to technical means, they're trying to carry over their old styles of communications. Whereas the original users of
eMail and related technologies often came or were joining a
culture used to expensive communication, such as
telegraph or
amateur radio, many people who are now becoming used to eMail or similar means are converting from
hand-written mail or simply moving what would have previously been an in-person social exchange. The latter styles of communication do not encourage brevity, and for the introvert, often feel incredibly prolix.