There are over billions of people that fill this world, yet most of them are unknown. People are lost and disconnected from any sort of social interaction. Their ideal Friday night now involves a bag of popcorn and a movie, rather than a jacket and sitting on cold bleachers watching their football team. To some teens, and even adults, being social can feel like a chore and even mentally draining instead of easy and beneficial. However, do we know what causes someone to become so introverted? 

Throughout time, more and more people start to become distant and more stand-offish. Can this be due to society? Or can biology play a factor in this too? Students and teachers have differing opinions about the question at hand. 

“I’m Introverted, and for me, social interaction is draining,” Garrett Anderson (12) said. “However, I believe that biology has nothing to do with it, I think that the way someone is raised is what affects someone the most.” 

To some, like Anderson, being by themselves is seen as a positive thing, and sometimes necessary for their health.

”It feels different [being introverted] at different stages of your life,” Psychology teacher, Tiffany Richie said. “As an adult, it feels like there’s too much going on around me, and I just need a minute to shut everything out and recharge.” 

However, some people find benefits to being introverted, like being able to people watch. 

“I am ambivert, which means I’m both [introverted and extraverted]” Andrew Charnoski (9) said. “When I am introverted though I would say it’s nice cause you get to see what other people do and what they talk about or how they feel.”

One of the factors that play a role in someone’s opinion is growing up with siblings, and knowing just how different their personalities can be. 

“Personally, I believe that the major factor is from society,” Maeve Sullivan (12) said. “I am more extraverted than my brother, yet we grew up in the same house and have the same exact parents.” 

Throughout the years people are able to change their personality over time, if they are willing to.

“I was born with the personality trait of being introverted,” Richie says. “However, I learned to open up and talk to people over time, especially when I was still in school.” 

Although it sounds good to change such a big factor, changing the whole dynamic of someones biology. 

“Being able to push yourself to change is great, but it’s unrealistic,” Mason Chapa (11) says. “Just because we want to change, doesn’t mean that we can alter our genetics.”

The extent of how biology and society truly affect someone is still unknown, but conclusions can be drawn with the information that is known. 

“I think both play a factor,” Richie says. “I think you are born with the personality trait of either being introverted or extraverted, but society can change that. Especially in middle school through college, you have to learn to reach out and talk to people. Same thing can also happen to someone who is extraverted though, they can be brought down by hateful words and that can change too. So society may play a bigger factor, but they are born with the personality trait of being introverted or extraverted.”