Adsense Nonsense
Call me greedy, but I signed this site up for Google Adsense- a program that rewards me when visitors click on the sidebar ads that are supposedly relevant to my blog. Having the word church in my site title, I of course anticipated ads for Christian singles and Christian weight-loss programs. No surprise there. But what of ads relevant to the word introvert? It was only a matter of time before those showed up. And last night, it happened.
I had just got in from a typical Friday night out with my fellow introverted friend- a drink or two and a deep, yet humorous discussion about our lives. I logged onto this site and there it was: "Introvert=Loser. Being yourself is not the solution, it's the problem. Learn to change." Suddenly, those Christian singles ads didn't sound so bad. So I had two options: Get mad, or use it as an opportunity for a constructive post. Restraining my introverted rage, I chose the later.
The bold message of that ad is the message introverts hear everyday: There is something wrong with us and we need to change. Unfortunately, most introverts take that myth for a fact and set about trying to cure what they believe to be introvert's disease. The prescription? A healthy dose of parties, big groups, and new people. We believe if anything will heal us, this will. And so with all the courage we can muster, we attempt to socialize in the ways of all normal and healthy people. Anything but a loser.
The problems come when at social events, we find ourselves lacking the knack for mingling, small-talk, and group conversations. Our difficulty leads most people to conclude that either we just don't like them or we're brain dead. And that only leads us to feel even weirder than we already do. So much for that, we tell ourselves, and start thinking that people like us belong in monasteries and mental asylums.
Here's the good news: there's nothing wrong with introverts and we can't change no matter how many times we repeat Obama's mantra "Yes We Can!" While a lot of us can wear the extrovert's mask pretty well, we have a natural preference for deep thought, deep conversations, and deep relationships that don't belong in monasteries, but in the middle of human life. If that makes me a loser, then a loser I'll be.
I had just got in from a typical Friday night out with my fellow introverted friend- a drink or two and a deep, yet humorous discussion about our lives. I logged onto this site and there it was: "Introvert=Loser. Being yourself is not the solution, it's the problem. Learn to change." Suddenly, those Christian singles ads didn't sound so bad. So I had two options: Get mad, or use it as an opportunity for a constructive post. Restraining my introverted rage, I chose the later.
The bold message of that ad is the message introverts hear everyday: There is something wrong with us and we need to change. Unfortunately, most introverts take that myth for a fact and set about trying to cure what they believe to be introvert's disease. The prescription? A healthy dose of parties, big groups, and new people. We believe if anything will heal us, this will. And so with all the courage we can muster, we attempt to socialize in the ways of all normal and healthy people. Anything but a loser.
The problems come when at social events, we find ourselves lacking the knack for mingling, small-talk, and group conversations. Our difficulty leads most people to conclude that either we just don't like them or we're brain dead. And that only leads us to feel even weirder than we already do. So much for that, we tell ourselves, and start thinking that people like us belong in monasteries and mental asylums.
Here's the good news: there's nothing wrong with introverts and we can't change no matter how many times we repeat Obama's mantra "Yes We Can!" While a lot of us can wear the extrovert's mask pretty well, we have a natural preference for deep thought, deep conversations, and deep relationships that don't belong in monasteries, but in the middle of human life. If that makes me a loser, then a loser I'll be.
|
|
2 comments:
That's hillarious! There's actually an add called "Introvert-Loser?" Great stuff. I'll have to keep my eyes out for that one. I wonder if they need an actor to play in their commercials....
Your absolutely right, Jeff. Unfortunately introverts are often looks upon as weak and those who have social problems that need correction. The funny thing is introverts tend to be quite adaptive as we have learned to live and succeed in an extrovert's world...until we get burned outof course.
It's also fun to see how people find access to your introvert site. My favorite google search that led someone to my blog was "Introverted Jerk"
Post a Comment