• Question: why do you think we value isolation and why some people need/want isolation more than others?

    Asked by aliesha to Sam, Rose, Maggi, Kirsty, Ben on 15 Jun 2017.
    • Photo: Kirsty Miller

      Kirsty Miller answered on 15 Jun 2017:

      Hi Aliesha, That’s a great question! I think quite a lot of it is down to personality types – some people find being with others quite overwhelming. Although there is some debate about the introverted/extroverted personality types, the idea is that introverts prefer to spend time alone and can find it quite tiring being with people all of the time! They tend to value time alone more than extroverts, however, in general, everyone needs to have some time to themselves sometimes to recharge! The problem is that nowadays it’s even harder to switch off and have time to yourself so there is even more of a need for us to escape to focus on ourselves for a while!

    • Photo: Rose Turner

      Rose Turner answered on 17 Jun 2017:

      Thee is some evidence that some people tend to think a lot about the thoughts and feelings of others which is a very positive social trait. However if you’re in a large group and constantly thinking about things from other people’s points of view, that can take up a lot of energy. So some people can value being alone in order to recuperate, though this doesn’t necessarily mean they are introverts. It might be that they are very sociable, but social situations take up a bit more headspace than they do for other people!

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