![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/low-social-battery-300x300.png\")
<\/a>Over Christmas I spent some time with family – family that I adore<\/strong> and, apparently, the feeling is mutual.\u00a0 So, theoretically we should be able to spend endless hours together catching up and socializing.\u00a0 But as it happened, after about three hours together it was clear we were all ready for a break.\u00a0 Or, as my college-age great-niece put it:\u00a0 our social batteries were depleted<\/strong>.\u00a0 I had never heard that expression but definitely could relate to it.\u00a0 We concluded that we are all introverts at heart and enjoy time alone.\u00a0 I got to wondering whether this is a Covid-related issue or something more universal.\u00a0 Turns out, this phenomenon has been around a while; Covid just made it more apparent.<\/p>\nAs it turns out, our family was about average in terms of our battery capacity.\u00a0 According to a 2016 study published in The Journal of Personality<\/em>, introverts experience fatigue after three hours of socialization. If we exceed the capacity of our social battery, we tend to become irritable, inattentive and mentally and physically exhausted<\/strong>.\u00a0 Boy, that goes a long way toward explaining why I’m grouchy at a long cocktail party!<\/p>\n But the world isn’t so simple that we can just be introverts or extroverts, there are also ambiverts and omniverts.<\/strong>\u00a0 As you might guess, these are people that float between being an introvert and extrovert.\u00a0 Ambiverts will change according to the external situation<\/strong> they are in, while omniverts will change depending on how they feel that day<\/strong>.\u00a0 Researchers say that most of us fall into the ambivert or omnivert spectrum because we have learned over time what different social situations require.<\/p>\n Let’s face it, regardless of your type, we’re all tired of this damn virus.\u00a0 At least now you may have a better understanding of why you’ve been grumpy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Over Christmas I spent some time with family – family that I adore and, apparently, the feeling is mutual.\u00a0 So, theoretically we should be able to spend endless hours together catching up and socializing.\u00a0 But … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Introvert-287x300.jpg\")
<\/a>First, according to the Urban Dictionary (the term hasn’t made it to Webster’s yet), “social battery” is defined as a metaphor for a person’s capacity to intermingle with groups of people<\/strong> in one setting.\u00a0 If you love having a day to yourself or are relieved when someone calls to cancel plans, it could be because you are an introvert with a low social battery. Being around people – friends, colleagues or family \u2013 is a challenging task that takes energy.\u00a0 If you start the day with a low amount of social battery it doesn’t take much to drain it.\u00a0 Spending time alone, being creative, is one of the ways that introverts re-charge.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Recharge-298x300.png\")
<\/a>Extroverts, on the other hand, need<\/em> to be with people to charge their social battery.\u00a0 They start the day like a phone that hasn’t been charged<\/strong>: they need some juice to get going.\u00a0 They revel in a full calendar of events and meetings, and often volunteer their time in order to create more interaction with people.\u00a0 Extroverts will keep in touch with friends and family on a frequent basis to share the stories that they need to get out of their systems<\/strong>.\u00a0 We all know some of these people – the ones that call just as you’re getting dinner on the table and talk for 30 minutes about their round of golf.\u00a0 Extroverts seldom like to do anything alone, whether it’s going to the grocery store or grabbing a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/introvert-vs-extrovert-300x169.jpg\")
<\/a>So, now that I’ve probably depleted your social battery by droning on about this, I’ll conclude by observing that whatever your personality type, Covid has had an effect<\/strong>.\u00a0 Numerous studies have been done over the past two years about how people have handled isolation during the pandemic.\u00a0 Not surprisingly, extroverts have suffered more acutely from the lack of activities and interaction with others.\u00a0 And while some social scientists called the Covid lockdowns “Springtime for Introverts”, that isn’t accurate either.\u00a0 While lockdowns were more bearable<\/strong> for people with low social batteries, even introverts feel frustrated because their choice to isolate was made for them, and not by them.<\/p>\n