I spend a lot of time alone and I’m totally fine with it. If I need to run errands or whatever I usually do that alone too, that way I can just do what I want to do and get it over with. However, I do love going out with friends or family and in the right company could talk and talk about any number of things for days on end. I’d say I’m about a 5 or 6.
Thank you for describing me perfectly, jsgoddess! 
For me, the best indicator between introverts and extroverts can be summed up by a person’s reaction to the following scenario:
You see a casual acquaintance in a public place reading a book. Do you say to yourself:
a) That person is clearly engaged in an activity and I’ll leave him to it; or
b) Poor guy, he doesn’t have anyone to talk to, I’ll go keep him company.
I’m a 10. But as many people have expressed, most people who know me wouldn’t rate me as being that high, I don’t think. I’m thinking they’d peg me as a 8, at the highest. That’s because when I have to be social, I do a pretty good job. Sometimes I can eek some enjoyment out of it. But I have low endurance–I blow my wad, so to speak, after just a few minutes.
Thelurkinghorror, the guy at the party is exactly like me. When I arrive on the party scene, I do the chit-chat, mingling-amongst-the crowd-thing for a few minutes, and then I find my little perch and watch everyone else. I don’t do so because I’m nervous or awkward. It’s just that 1)my social juices have run out, and I need to recharge for a bit, and 2)I’m naturally a spectator, not a player. If someone else wants to be center of the party, that’s fine. But that’s not me.
I guess that’s one of my pet peeves–the pathologization of being alone. I know I often take things to an extreme, but if a person has never gone out to eat by themselves, or shriek in horror at the idea of going to the movies alone, then I know I’ll have a problem relating to them.
I admit that highly extroverted people rub me the wrong way. From my experience, they are too talkative, nosy, and are the type of person who thinks someone like me is deficient in some way. No, just because I don’t want to hear about your weekend sexual escapades or have the same conversation we had just a few days ago does not mean there’s something wrong with me. It just means that I have limited “social” energy, and I don’t want to waste it by suffering through those kinds of conversations.
Have I ever wanted to be more extroverted? Yes. I have wanted to desire the company of the others, just so that I can be more “normal” and more tolerant of others. I’m pretty immune to being called “weird”, but I feel like I’m becoming misanthropic and more and more self-centered. But because I don’t feel like my introversion has handicapped me in life, I don’t feel the motivation to change.
I’m probably an eight. I prefer to be alone in my thoughts. I don’t like doing social gatherings at all, and I only have a few really close friends and I rarely see them. I’m far more social online though, and I think that counts!
What’s strange about me is I’m chatty enough with strangers, like the cashier at the store. I’m not shy when it comes to that sort of interaction. It’s only when it gets personal that I’m really nervous. For example my daughter has a new girlfriend who wants to meet me but I’ve made excuses so far because I’m just afraid I’ll say something stupid and I don’t want to shame the family.
Can I sit over here? No need to chat.
I used to be an extrovert, but now I’m an introvert. I’d say I’m probably a 3 or 4.
Yes! My answer is a. I am probably an 8.
9 or 10.
I’m about a 6.5. I need to decompress after being around a lot of people but I’m definitely not a loner.
I guess about a 4 (E) according to my Meyers Briggs score.
That’s the difference between Es and Is. An E hears a bunch of coworkers goofing off and wants to join in. An I wishes they would shut the fuck up and get back to work.
Unlikable introverts are easy to ignore because they don’t make much noise. But they can be a tough hang if you are stuck in the car or working in a conference room with them.
When I was young, I was maybe a 9. Now, I’m about a 5 or 6. I am introverted by nature but because I was tired of feeling awkward and because I had things to do, I learned how to become extroverted. I’ve heard quite a few people describe me as extroverted in the last few years, but it’s an act that has been honed over the years. I’m more confident than I used to be, and I can talk to anyone about almost anything, but I’m happy to be home alone and in fact need to be a few nights a week.
After a few glasses of wine, I’m more like a 3.
Now see, I’d go over and say hi and chat for a few minutes and then say, “Well, I’ll leave you to your book” and go away. That to me seems the best course of action. If you do a, the person might think you’re rude for not talking to him. If you do b, the person might think you’re being a pest. My solution is to be polite and friendly but not overbearing.
Introvert, and I’d say about a 9. I pretty much keep to myself in all contexts, and there are only a few people that I feel talkative toward. And by talkative I mean I already have something in mind to say-- I don’t just shoot the shit with people.
I have a close friend, I have a SO (who is about as introverted as I am), and I have a couple coworkers I talk to about non-work stuff almost daily. I have nights out with others once or twice a month, and I see my SO weekly (which is what our work schedule permits). Although I’d like to see my SO more, I’m otherwise satisfied with my social life.
I am fine with the way I am. I don’t dislike extroverts, I just know I’m not that way. Some extroverts are nosy, some just don’t know when to shut up, and some are just insane, but I know those are qualities not necessarily caused by their extrovertedness.
If I have any ire, it’s for shy people who call themselves introverts only because they don’t have the balls to go talk to people. They WANT to be more social, but are paralyzed by fear and insecurity. People who do that make it harder for genuine introverts-- we want to be left alone, but thanks to those people, the perception is reinforced that introverts are simply really shy and secretly want to party with everyone else and just need more prodding to join the crowd. Hells no.
I am a 9 if not a 10. I’m sure there are people more introverted than me out there, but I’ve never met one. If I spend too much time around other people, I start to feel slightly crazy and desperate to get away.
I frequently wish I could fake extraversion, but I’ve never wished to truly be extraverted. I don’t have bad feelings toward extraverts, I just find them incomprehensible.
Somewhere in the middle, probably a 6.
I think it cycles for me. I have days/weeks when I am more social and extroverted, and some days/weeks where I am more introverted. On the high end of this cycle, I volunteer more often, go to more social events and make more plans with friends. I also tend to initiate conversations more, or will participate more in meetings/classes. On the low of this cycle, I hide out in my house doing chores or vegging out and not seeking out human interaction. I’ll also be more quiet in meetings/class and keep more to myself. I’ve never been a person to just sit alone during a party…if there’s no one to talk to, I usually just duck out early.
I’m an extrovert, about an 8. As in, I have no problem occupying myself alone, I just don’t prefer it. I really don’t have a problem understanding how introverts are different from me, and I do my best to be welcoming but not overbearing. I don’t find it offensive or “stuck up”, for example, if one person wants to eat lunch alone and not “with the group at the office.” I wouldn’t try to pressure that person into joining the group, just let them know where to find us if they feel like it.
However my parents are totally psycho extroverts! At my wedding, I told them that [person] would rather sit with people he knows than total strangers, and they acted like he had a psychological problem (literally, they said, “Oh, does he have a psychological problem?” as if it were not possible to be reasonably well-balanced and NOT desire the ever-present company of strangers).
Anyway, introverts, I apologize in advance, and I try really hard not to be like them.
I already said I am an introvert, but I am also shy. They are not mutually exclusive. I prefer to be by myself most of the time, but sometimes I do want to be around people and that is made difficult by my shyness.
Beautifully put, thank you.
kapri, if you did that to me, either I’d notice you were talking to me right from the start (in which case I’d be quite pissed off that you’re interrupting my reading) or I wouldn’t, in which case please remember that the sudden “AAAAAAAAAARGH! I’msorryI’msorry!” wasn’t meant to startle you, it’s because you startled me. Your polite is my interruption 
I’m talking about people who don’t want what I assume is the stigma of being socially awkward, so they hide behind an “introvert” label. They’re not true introverts, they’re more like wannabe extroverts.