...1) We don’t need alone time because we don’t like you. We need alone time because we need alone time. Don’t take it personally.2) We aren’t judging anyone when we sit quietly. We're just sitting quietly, probably enjoying watching extroverts in action.3) If we say we’re having fun, we’re having fun, even though it might not look that way to you.4) If we leave early, it’s not because we’re party poopers. We’re just pooped. Socializing takes a lot out of us.5) If you want to hear what we have to say, give us time to say it. We don’t fight to be heard over other people. We just clam up.6) We’re not lonely, we’re choosy. And we’re loyal to friends who don’t try to make us over into extroverts.7) Anything but the telephone.1) Extroverts don’t understand introversion unless someone explains it.2) Extroverts who try to get you to loosen up usually aren’t doing it to annoy you. They mean well.3) Extroverts produce a lot of words but quantity does not preclude quality. There's often plenty of good stuff in there for those with the patience to listen.4) Extroverts can teach us plenty about glad-handing and small talking. These are useful skills, whether or not you enjoy them.5) Extroverts can’t read your mind and they’re not big on catching hints. Say what you want.6) At parties, think of extroverted friends as a glider tow plane. They pull you in and get you started, but eventually you have to sail on your own.7) Extroverts come in all different styles, just like introverts. Keep a lookout for extroverts with a quiet side, who make dandy friends....

Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice?If so, do you tell this person he is "too serious," or ask if he is okay? Regard him as aloof, arrogant, rude? Redouble your efforts to draw him out?If you answered yes to these questions, chances are that you have an introvert on your hands—and that you aren't caring for him properly. Science has learned a good deal in recent years about the habits and requirements of introverts. It has even learned, by means of brain scans, that introverts process information differently from other people (I am not making this up). If you are behind the curve on this important matter, be reassured that you are not alone. Introverts may be common, but they are also among the most misunderstood and aggrieved groups in America, possibly the world....

...Faking it is exactly what a lot of introverts learn to do from an early age. And that masquerade covers up something primal and deep. Scientists have begun to learn that the introverted or extroverted temperament seems strongly inborn and inherited, influencing our behavior from not long after we're out of the womb....Caution, inhibition and even fearfulness may be healthy--and smart--adaptations for the overstimulated person, but they're still not characteristics many parents would want in their children, especially in a society that lionizes the bold. So it's common for moms and dads of introverted offspring to press their kids to be more outgoing, lest they end up overlooked in class and later in life. That, however, can be a mistake--and not just because our temperaments are difficult to change fundamentally....It's not just introverts who suffer when work becomes an endless series of meetings and brainstorming sessions. Anyone who has spent time in any organization knows that there is rarely a correlation between the quality of an idea and the volume at which it is presented. Defying the loudest speaker--and the groupthink that tends to build around that person--can be painful for anyone. Gregory Berns, a neuroeconomist at Emory University, has found that when people oppose group consensus, their amygdalae light up, signaling fear of rejection. The risks of groupthink are perhaps most apparent in criminal juries, where the desire for social cohesion can sometimes short-circuit justice....

...In our society, the ideal self is bold, gregarious, and comfortable in the spotlight. We like to think that we value individuality, but mostly we admire the type of individual who’s comfortable “putting himself out there.” Our schools, workplaces, and religious institutions are designed for extroverts. Introverts are to extroverts what American women were to men in the 1950s -- second-class citizens with gigantic amounts of untapped talent....Many introverts feel there’s something wrong with them, and try to pass as extroverts. But whenever you try to pass as something you’re not, you lose a part of yourself along the way. You especially lose a sense of how to spend your time. Introverts are constantly going to parties and such when they’d really prefer to be home reading, studying, inventing, meditating, designing, thinking, cooking…or any number of other quiet and worthwhile activities....Yes. An interesting line of research by the psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Gregory Feist suggests that the most creative people in many fields are usually introverts. This is probably because introverts are comfortable spending time alone, and solitude is a crucial (and underrated) ingredient for creativity....

...Introverts may make up nearly half the population, but Cain says they are second-class citizens.“A widely held, but rarely articulated, belief in our society is that the ideal self is bold, alpha, gregarious,” says Cain. “Introversion is viewed somewhere between disappointment and pathology.”...It was over the last century, says Cain, that society began reshaping itself as an extrovert’s paradise—to the introvert’s demise. She explains that before the twentieth century, we lived in what historians called a “culture of character,” when you were expected to conduct yourself morally with quiet integrity. But when people starting flocking to the cities and working for big businesses the question became, how do I stand out in a crowd? We morphed into a “culture of personality,” which she says sparked a fascination with glittering movie stars, bubbly employees and outgoing leadership....Yet, according to Cain, it’s only worked to damage innovation and productivity. Research shows that charismatic leaders earn bigger paychecks but do not have better corporate performance; that brainstorming results in lower quality ideas and the more vocally assertive extroverts are the most likely to be heard; that the amount of space allotted to each employee shrunk 60% since the 1970s; and that open office plans are associated with reduced concentration and productivity, impaired memory, higher turnover and increased illness....

...Instead of embracing their serious, often quiet and reflective style, [introverts] are encouraged to act like extroverts—those assertive, outgoing types that love teamwork, brainstorming, networking and thinking out loud. This, she says, leads to a “colossal waste of talent, energy and happiness.”...“People have been waiting for the permission to articulate these things,” Cain told me in a video interview. “Now that they have it, there’s going to be a groundswell. Introverts are starting to speak out.”...Cain believes that whether you are outwardly oriented to the world around you or inwardly oriented to the inner riches of the mind has as profound an effect as your gender. “The place of introverts in our culture today is very similar to where women were in the 1950s and early 1960s,” she said. “Half the population was discounted for something that went to the core of who they were. And it was also a population on the verge of coming into its own, like what’s happening with introverts now. We’re at the cusp of a real sea change in the way we understand this personality type.”...“I would like to change people’s psyches,” Cain said. “So many introverts who I interviewed told me about a secret sense of shame they had about who they were and how they prefer to spend their time. I want people to have a comfort level with who they are. Secondly, I’d like schools and workplaces to rethink how they are structured and think about meeting the needs of their introverts as well as their extroverts.”...

...Our culture is biased against quiet and reserved people, but introverts are responsible for some of humanity's greatest achievements -- from Steve Wozniak's invention of the Apple computer to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. And these introverts did what they did not in spite of their temperaments -- but because of them....Yet our most important institutions -- our schools and our workplaces -- are designed for extroverts. And we're living with a value system that I call the New Groupthink, where we believe that all creativity and productivity comes from an oddly gregarious place....In fact, we've known about the transcendent power of solitude for centuries; it's only recently that we've forgotten it. Our major religions all tell the story of seekers -- Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha -- who go off alone, to the wilderness, and bring profound revelations back to the community. No wilderness, no revelations....

By now you might be wondering if you yourself are introverted or extroverted.. the following should help you figure it out:Introversion vs. Extraversion is just one of the four personality preference spectra that are cataloged by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator . I personally have a leaning towards INTJ (Scientist, Mastermind), the most introverted of the 16. These questionnaires can help you figure out your set of leanings:The following sites have great personalized descriptions for each of the 16 types:

The first pair of psychological preferences is Extraversion and Introversion. Where do you put your attention and get your energy? Do you like to spend time in the outer world of people and things (Extraversion), or in your inner world of ideas and images (Introversion)?Extraversion and Introversion as terms used by C. G. Jung explain different attitudes people use to direct their energy. ...Everyone spends some time extraverting and some time introverting. ...Take a minute to ask yourself which of the following descriptions seems more natural, effortless, and comfortable for you?I like getting my energy from active involvement in events and having a lot of different activities. I’m excited when I’m around people and I like to energize other people. I like moving into action and making things happen. I generally feel at home in the world. I often understand a problem better when I can talk out loud about it and hear what others have to say.The following statements generally apply to me:I like getting my energy from dealing with the ideas, pictures, memories, and reactions that are inside my head, in my inner world. I often prefer doing things alone or with one or two people I feel comfortable with. I take time to reflect so that I have a clear idea of what I’ll be doing when I decide to act. Ideas are almost solid things for me. Sometimes I like the idea of something better than the real thing.The following statements generally apply to me:Looking at Type: The Fundamentals

I have almost a quarter century experience as an introvert and I have recently performed extensive internet research carefully picking out the best and most popular information sources. Instead of summarizing and presenting everything in my own words, you could view this post as a presentation of my aggregation of the cream of the crop in logical progression. Let there be no mistake that being introverted is just fine - even something to be confident in - and there are and have been a lot of powerful/important people that understand this.