I'm very interested to know what advantages introverts claim to have over extroverts in a social setting.

Quote from Nish

I'm very interested to know what advantages introverts claim to have over extroverts in a social setting.

None, introverts have no advantages over extroverts per say.

I was referring to what Skeletonxf was talking about, because he normally makes sense.

Quote from Skeletonxf

I'd say even if the author's conclusion is correct, their arguments were not.

And I reject premise 3) as not considering that introverts will also have advantages over extroverts, rendering a blanket privilege for one side false.

I'm not agreeing with the author's argument, and I don't think privilege has an "all or nothing" clause. Privilege has very much to do with context, and there are definitely situations in which being an extrovert is advantageous just as there are situations where introverts have an advantage over extroverts. That is why point 3 stipulates "some" advantages, not that it's entirely advantageous, and it's also why later on I wanted to emphasize that literally everyone has some kind of privilege and having that privilege pretty much means nothing.

For example if Person A (the extrovert) is visiting a party with Person B (the introvert), person A has the advantage because they'll naturally feel more comfortable in that social setting if we accept the extraversion-introversion theory. However if the situation was reversed, where Person A and Person B were spending time alone (separately), Person B has the advantage because they're more comfortable being alone, whereas Person A will struggle with the lack of social contact. Note that "social privilege" in this case isn't meant literally, as in privilege that exists only in situations where you're out in public, it has to do with sociology. Choosing to be home alone is still an aspect of human social behavior. If you're confused please see my first point.

In both situations a certain privilege is exhibited, but like I said I don't think it means anything. It's just a way to describe the fact that some people have advantages in relation to others. It's not fair to vilify an extrovert because they don't have problems socializing and you do. It's also not fair to ask an extrovert not to be an extrovert because it makes you personally uncomfortable. It's fine to identify that people are indeed different and that some people have more advantages than others depending on what group they're in, but I disagree with anyone who uses it to condemn someone else because it's not an inherently bad thing to have privilege especially if you're the kind of person who is aware of it.

I think while it is quite clear that both extroverts and introverts have their own advantages/disadvantages in life in general, I thought Skeleton was making an argument that introverts sometimes held an advantage in social situations i.e. interaction with other people. I must have misunderstood him.

Before I address some of the really good points people made in here. Yah know I've gotta play devils advocate and ask why no one is considering the following.
1: There must actually be benefits to being introverted, otherwise we wouldn't have evolved to be introverted.
2: These advantages must in some way pertain to social interaction, because humans are inherently social beings, and introversion/extroversion are social traits.

What are some examples of advantages an introvert may have? I'm sure you're asking.
1: Introverts can spend much more time alone than extroverts can.
To put it simply, introverts have a higher tolerance for isolation. Eventually any human being will break if they spend enough time with no human contact. But compared to an introvert, an extrovert is needy.

2: Introverts are known for being more intrinsically motivated and self sufficient.
Considering that the majority of people on this forum are introverts, something which has become evident HERE. Understand that I'm not making bold claims by saying that the majority of introverted people are intrinsically motivated. Which is in many ways an advantage, as you don't need the encouragement of others to accomplish what you desire.

I'm willing to change my mind on all of this, I don't necessarily think these advantages hold as much weight as an extroverts advantages in western society. I've read plenty of material which compares extroverted leaders vs introverted leader, I wish I could remember which book in particular tackled this subject. But it explained that western society more greatly values extroverted traits for leadership, while say Japan more greatly favors introverted traits for leadership.
To put it plainly, without saying definitely whether I think one is privileged over the other. I don't honestly believe being an extrovert makes you socially adept, nor being an introvert makes you socially inept. So it's hard for me to perceive one as privileged over the other.

Because believe me, I've met many extroverts that are socially inept.

I'll just add a bit more to what Jutsu said.

Quote from Jutsu

1: There must actually be benefits to being introverted, otherwise we wouldn't have evolved to be introverted.

The benefits might have been that back when we were Cavemen, the introverts found an excuse to stay home, while the extroverts went out and got killed by sabre-tooth tigers. That might not apply to modern society. Just speculation though.

Quote from Jutsu

2: These advantages must in some way pertain to social interaction, because humans are inherently social beings, and introversion/extroversion are social traits.

Yes, or an advantage pertaining to avoiding social interaction. Some women might have found it a safer bet to have kids with the quiet, unassuming farmer rather than the rogue-ish, unaccountable bull-fighter.

Quote from Jutsu

1: There must actually be benefits to being introverted, otherwise we wouldn't have evolved to be introverted.

While I've already highlighted why introverts having some advantage is kind of irrelevant to the question, no one is considering this because this isn't how evolution works. Not every mutation has a use and not every useless mutation is weeded out. It's a misconception that evolution only affects traits that are beneficial to us. Introverts can have easily found a place but that doesn't mean it inherently has advantages because it came out of evolution. It's easy to speculate how it might have benefits in history, but all that is is speculation and has nothing to do with evolution. Any mutation can survive if it doesn't affect the person's ability to reproduce. Our bodies do lots of weird shit that has little or no purpose which has survived simply because it wasn't all that detrimental. Extraversion-introversion isn't binary either it's a scale, so it's not even like all introverts are social recluses. I'm not saying Introversion has no advantages, and I'm not even necessarily disagreeing with you, I just want to point out that this is flawed logic. You can't assume something has a benefit because we evolved with it.

You asked if extroverts have social privilege, to which I think the answer is 'yes'. If you asked "Do introverts have social privilege?" Then I think the answer is still 'yes'. Neither of these questions has anything to do with one having MORE or LESS privilege than the other, they literally just ask if it exists.

Quote from Nish

I think while it is quite clear that both extroverts and introverts have their own advantages/disadvantages in life in general, I thought Skeleton was making an argument that introverts sometimes held an advantage in social situations i.e. interaction with other people. I must have misunderstood him.

No, Jeff makes it much clearer than I did

Quote from Jeff

I'm not agreeing with the author's argument, and I don't think privilege has an "all or nothing" clause. Privilege has very much to do with context, and there are definitely situations in which being an extrovert is advantageous just as there are situations where introverts have an advantage over extroverts. That is why point 3 stipulates "some" advantages, not that it's entirely advantageous, and it's also why later on I wanted to emphasize that literally everyone has some kind of privilege and having that privilege pretty much means nothing.

For example if Person A (the extrovert) is visiting a party with Person B (the introvert), person A has the advantage because they'll naturally feel more comfortable in that social setting if we accept the extraversion-introversion theory. However if the situation was reversed, where Person A and Person B were spending time alone (separately), Person B has the advantage because they're more comfortable being alone, whereas Person A will struggle with the lack of social contact. Note that "social privilege" in this case isn't meant literally, as in privilege that exists only in situations where you're out in public, it has to do with sociology. Choosing to be home alone is still an aspect of human social behavior. If you're confused please see my first point.

In both situations a certain privilege is exhibited, but like I said I don't think it means anything. It's just a way to describe the fact that some people have advantages in relation to others. It's not fair to vilify an extrovert because they don't have problems socializing and you do. It's also not fair to ask an extrovert not to be an extrovert because it makes you personally uncomfortable. It's fine to identify that people are indeed different and that some people have more advantages than others depending on what group they're in, but I disagree with anyone who uses it to condemn someone else because it's not an inherently bad thing to have privilege especially if you're the kind of person who is aware of it.

Quote from Jutsu

Before I address some of the really good points people made in here. Yah know I've gotta play devils advocate and ask why no one is considering the following.
1: There must actually be benefits to being introverted, otherwise we wouldn't have evolved to be introverted.
2: These advantages must in some way pertain to social interaction, because humans are inherently social beings, and introversion/extroversion are social traits.

Well one could think of scenarios where extroverts can't cope with not being able to socialise as much as they want to when introverts can, but going with what Jeff's already said, this is mostly irrelevant

Wait, aren't Jeff and Skeleton saying totally different things? Why are you saying you're making the same point? I'm very confused.

Quote from Nish

Wait, aren't Jeff and Skeleton saying totally different things? Why are you saying you're making the same point? I'm very confused.

I disagree that one should say 'extroverts or introverts have a privilege over the other' as a blanket statement, because I think it's missing the point as the privileges of either are contextual and not blanket generalisations to make.

For example, you could maybe get away with saying there used to be a male privilege and a white privilege 100 years ago, because context where it's that way round was commonplace and context the other way round was very minimal, but you shouldn't be saying either groups have an outright privilege now, because it's so situational and works both ways when it even does exist.

I should probably have quoted less and typed more to make my own point more clear.

But thats part of the point, isn't it?

It isn't whether one of them has a privilege as a blanket statement. It is whether one of them has a privilege in a social situation. I'm yet to see how functioning better in isolated situations qualifies as a social privilege. Unless you're thrown in prison or you're working some mechanical job in a communist dictatorship, I don't see how anyone would be forced into isolation, and hence can claim that functioning better while alone is a privilege.

I could be missing something though.

If an example can be given to support this

If you asked "Do introverts have social privilege?" Then I think the answer is still 'yes'

then there's not even a privilege outright in a social sitauion for extroverts

One could function well in isolated situations, as an introvert, and be good at interpersonal skills and find themselves very good at working in teams that split up the workload into single things they each do separately. As the whole system remains quite a social thing, teamworking, I think you can find scenarios where introversion provides social privilege.

Quote from Skeletonxf

I disagree that one should say 'extroverts or introverts have a privilege over the other' as a blanket statement, because I think it's missing the point as the privileges of either are contextual and not blanket generalisations to make.

My whole argument is that privilege is contextual, so I'm not sure why you think I'm missing that point. That's all I've been saying. I'm not generalizing anything or making blanket statements by saying "yes" to the asked questions, if the listener chooses to interpret that as a blanket statement that's not really my problem. That's why I clarified my position by going into detail about context being important. "Do extroverts have social privilege" is a pretty simple question that can be answered simply but if more information as to why that is the case is needed it can be provided to clarify. That depends on who's asking. Like I said privilege isn't inherently an all or nothing thing, especially when the question is as specific in the one in this thread. Two groups can both have privilege over the other in different ways but they still have that privilege and so the answer should be yes. Privilege doesn't mean anything more than that. I've already cited the definition I'm using to argue my points so there's nothing else I can say if you choose to ignore that and substitute your own. If the question was more specific like the one you present in your post, then maybe I would answer "sometimes", but that wasn't the question asked and I never said or implied otherwise.

Quote from Nish

But thats part of the point, isn't it?

It isn't whether one of them has a privilege as a blanket statement. It is whether one of them has a privilege in a social situation. I'm yet to see how functioning better in isolated situations qualifies as a social privilege. Unless you're thrown in prison or you're working some mechanical job in a communist dictatorship, I don't see how anyone would be forced into isolation, and hence can claim that functioning better while alone is a privilege.

I could be missing something though.

You're tripping up on the meaning of "social privilege" and using the wrong definition in this case. My points weren't about privilege exclusive to when you're interacting with other people, it was about sociology which has to do with human social behavior which isn't limited to when humans are outside interacting with others, it can also involve people who prefer to be alone, which is still an aspect of human social behavior. I believe you're taking the word "social" and using it in the colloquial sense which doesn't apply to this situation. I clarified this previously, does it need further explanation?

Extroverts are often seen as "cooler" and have more charisma. Men who can handle other people in social situations and hold a smooth conversation tend to get more women. Inherently, our main goal as humans is to procreate. Extroverts can have a tremendous advantage in this area of things. Not saying that introverts never get laid, but extroverts tend to have a natural confidence socially that gets them laid. Not to mention, it's a necessity to be an extrovert to be any kind of famous celebrity, or to be a politician. The big difference is introverts are the people who write the groundbreaking books and design million dollar websites, but that's not social. So just maybe, extroverts do have a social privilege.