Contrary to popular belief, the life of an introvert isn't all quiet rooms, headphones, and refusing to answer phone calls. The problem with introverts is one of energy: As Dr. Jennifer Kahnweiler told Psych Central, "Introverts get their energy from within, while extroverts recharge externally through people, places, and stimulation," so introverts Becoming exhausted through social situations. Depending on their specific stamina, many introverts can handle a wide variety of social situations, but after a while, their energy dries up and they need to go hug the dog and not talk to anyone for a while. This is where future technology may come into play. In an ideal world, modern introverts would wow the Jetsons with inventions designed just for them.
The ideas I present here are a futurist's dream, involving technologies we haven't even dreamed of yet; but the modern world is becoming increasingly friendly to introverts. A prime example is electronic checkouts in supermarkets, which reduce the need for social interaction (also a boon for those suffering from social anxiety). But that's just the tip of the iceberg: Some experts believe social media and other forms of communication that don't require face-to-face interaction can significantly reduce the mental burden on introverts, and one British designer has gone even further, designing "introji" specifically for talking Introverted emotion emoticon. It’s clear that the acceleration of technological discovery will provide possibilities for introverts as a side effect or directly.
However, if you're a budding tech genius, may I throw in some ideas?
1. Pop-up Isolation Tent Backpack
The lowdown: Made from handmade breathable felt through new innovations in matter manipulation and nanoengineering, these isolation pods can fit into a normal-sized backpack along with a few novels and a cupcake. On demand, it expands into a sturdy, soft hammock around the wearer in less than five seconds, with small windows, complete soundproofing and built-in lighting. Models can be made to provide a full-length sleeping environment, or simply a padded sphere around the user's head. Very popular in airports and noisy shared living spaces.
2. Energy countdown timer
The Truth: Thanks to new findings about the relationship between introverts' social energy levels and neural activity in different brain regions, this monitor, conveniently worn around the wrist or neck, can show concerned friends and family when an introvert is I quickly lost my ability to interact with people. It comes in digital or analog form and can display remaining social energy levels as a portion of a pie chart, a percentage, or an increasingly persistent flashing light. (Early models with sirens will be phased out.) Once social energy levels reach dangerous levels, the device sends an alert to anyone nearby, rescuing the suffering introvert by placing them in a quiet room to recharge , and left them alone with some cake (not included).
3. Transmission in social situations
The lowdown: The service (operated out of a vast service base somewhere underground in Utah), first offered exclusively to tech employees at the company's annual party and then gradually expanding beyond Silicon Valley to introverts nationwide, will allow for the push of a button , operate with caution. Escape from a situation where social viability is no longer possible. It runs a two-minute countdown to gently end any conversation before depositing the person neatly into their own bedroom. In the original upscale model, holograms could be left to engage in conversations using a set response algorithm, but when consumer surveys revealed that other guests had been insulted in some way, the holograms were removed from the market.
Famous sociopaths have made headlines for suddenly teleporting from award shows, often onto the stage after accepting an award. Ryan Gosling will quietly disappear from the Vanity Fair Oscar party.
4. Local dog and cat locator
Fact: In the world's first national pet GPS law, all owners who have a new animal microchipped will be required to register it in a locator database. Those indoors, such as hamsters, can remain off the grid except for their owners (who can find them if they crawl under the refrigerator); but when others wander the streets, they can be tracked by their friendliness, Description of pet to growl ratio to pinpoint location. And general likes and dislikes. An introvert in any given area can, with a few swipes, automatically find the nearest animal to cuddle, and whether it likes scratching its head or perhaps its throat.
The op-ed will consider the privacy rights of pets in the United States and worry that animal napping may proliferate in a GPS-centric world. People with real smarts will get rich playing Pokemon Go.
5. Social review sites for introverts
Lowdown: Similar to Tripadvisor or Yelp, but specifically geared toward the needs of people who are significantly limited in their ability to talk to people. Waiters at a five-star restaurant won't get caught up in unnecessary small talk; points will be deducted if a complaint to management requires a lengthy account of the manager's personal problems. As it diversifies, it will include workplaces, offering anonymous comments on how many quiet spaces there are to take breaks, whether coworkers are chatty, and how many weekly watercooler discussions are considered "socially acceptable" by others . staff. Tech companies and libraries will both take a hit. The club would be terrible. Cafes with grumpy, uncommunicative staff will find themselves filled with quiet new customers and be mumbling to themselves about it.
Restaurants hoping to capture demand will carve out separate "introverted areas" with quieter waiters, less stimulation and smaller tables. Whether this constitutes discrimination will be a hot legal issue. Hey, we can dream.
Photo credit: Deepak Sethi/E+/Getty Images; Jiffy
