Wow. That article is so much me I can’t believe it. I love it - “Hell is other people at breakfast.”
Sure, I can go socialize if I want. I even enjoy it, sometimes. People more or less like me, at least some of them. But it sure seems like I’m constantly fighting to get some time alone.
Mr. Athena is the one person I can deal with, most of the time, but even he knows that sometimes I just need to be alone.
Not many personal contacts in the desert, actually, but I don’t live there anymore. The Dope was my way of making up for the lack of face-to-face contact. There’s a lot more of that in San Jose, but I still like my Dopers. 
I’m glad that so many Type Bs have found compatible spouses. To me this is the primary indicator of compatibility. If you don’t have that, your relationship is doomed.
I know several divorced couples in which the husband’s Type 1 personality told him that his wife’s Type B isolation was a clear indicator that she no longer loved him – causing him to push even harder for a reason why.
Primarily, I’m a Type 1: outgoing, like having people around, could never telecommute on a regular basis, prefer an actual classroom to online courses, etc. No problem with parties or big crowds, either. But I also definitely have Type B moments.
I think we need 4 categories: the two mentioned in the OP, plus 1a (for people like me) and B1 (for people like Lissla Lissar, serious lark, etc.).
I’m not really sure, to tell the truth. I guess when people are around that I like, I like to be with them. But I don’t go out of my way to make friends, because frankly, most people kind of bore me. It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just that I don’t want to be in a situation where they want to come around all the damn time, because a little goes a long way.
Being married makes things worse. Now (the last 22 years) it’s more likely that four people have to like each other, rather than just two.
It’s slightly unfair to ask “are you a person who NEEDS people” and then offer the alternative as “someone who likes to be alone”.
Some of us don’t NEED people at all, but still like having them around.
I’m an AB. I’ll go out with folks, but I’m just as content to grab a book or play a computer game.
Fair enough. Use “need” or “prefer” at your leisure.
I think I used “need” for Type 1s because some of the more obvious 1s I’ve met really did need others. It was almost pathological. But these types are probably rare.
I don’t like the connotation of needy that Type 1 implies, I treasure my friends and family. All that happy sappy coffee mug stuff about “A joy shared is doubled but a sorrow shared is halved” yep, I get that.
I make friends easily, enjoy gatherings of any size and rarely feel any type of social anxiety.
Alone time is good, as well, it doesn’t feel weird or lonely or anti-social. I heave a happy sigh when I get back to my cave after a night out with friends. I’m never bored alone, there’s always something that needs doing or books to read or the computer, whatever.
Maybe Type 3 should be called well-adjusted? 
My wife was surprised when we started living together. I am an incredibly social person (I also prefer small groups to big parties), but when she moved in she noticed that I needed LOTS of time by myself.
At first she thought there was a problem, but that’s just the way I’m wired. I like being alone at times.
Fortunately, she adapted the same “alone time” schedule and we were able to have our seperate time without sacrificing the much needed together time.
And then we had a kid and that all went out the window…
And when the people you like having around, are not around, there is a void, yes?
Wow, some of you could be my long-lost siblings or clones or something, notably Aangelica, Metacom, tdn and WOOKINPANUB. I almost could have written those posts myself.
I could blissfully go for weeks without any human contact. I sometimes regret that I’ve never lived alone; I went from my parents to a succession of roommates to my significant other. Any “forced” socialization of more than a few hours is physically and emotionally exhausting. I don’t have a problem with crowds per se; I can thrive in a crowded bar, for example. But in a more intimate setting like a dinner party or something, my batteries run down quickly. I dread hosting get-togethers at our house because they invariably drag on for hours past my comfort point. I do have a handful of close friends who are the exception to this, and whose company I never tire of. But by and large I only like to go out once every couple of weeks.
Somehow I ended up with an SO who is a compulsive social addict. He can NEVER have an unscheduled minute in his social calendar. It was a major bone of contention in our relationship, at least in the early stages; fortunately we’ve managed to stay together for seven years through compromises, which sometimes means just doing our own things. I won’t say we understand each other in this regard - he thinks I have a problem and I think he has one - but we’ve made it work because we want to.
My “inner life” is very different from my outward demeanor. Most people who meet me think I’m the proverbial Nicest Guy Ever. They’d be surprised to know I’m actually something of a misanthrope.
I think this is how my parents have managed to stay happily married for 48 years. Right now my dad practically has his own seperate apartment where he spends all of his time.
I personally claim Podkayne as my long lost sister. Almost every time I read one of her posts I’m nodding my head saying, “Yep, that’s me.”
I agree with all of this pretty strongly.
It’s kind of funny that we have so much in common, but if we met in “real life” we would have to take a break from each other’s company after a while
I used to be a Type 1 when I was younger. Now, I am Type B. My shift to Type B is probably linked to my stroke. During recovery, talking to people was a chore I dreaded and it exhausted me. Even though I’m mostly recovered, I still find social situations tiring and frustating. I’m currently going through a hermit phase where I have no socializing in my calendar for June past this Friday.
Should Podkayne be concerned that you’re spending so much time with her husband? :dubious:
You stole my answer!
I’m kind of a “2A” person myself, but I’m definitely closer to “B” than to “1”. I don’t like large groups of people. If I spend too much time with others, I need some time to myself, and that’s what pushes me closer to “B”.
However, I don’t usually think “leave me the hell alone”. I do like to interact with people; I just prefer that it’s 1-2 people (3 at the most) at a time.
Like Pod, my wife is the one person whose company I can never get enough of. (Indeed, that’s a large part of why she is my wife.)
Oh, and it helps that my wife is an even stronger “B”, who gets really uncomfortable around more than 1 person she knows well, or any strangers at all.
Those types are extremes. Most people fall somewhere in the middle.
When I’m around people all the time I feel like being alone and when I’m alone all the time I feel like being around people.
I’m more “B” than “1” definitely, but type 1 has all the good perks (like sex).