By Jeffrey Heng, Co-Opinion Editor and Columnist
Take a glance at the articles you see across pages eight and nine. You will notice commentary from aviation sensationalism to cuts in research funding and gender markers — subject matter stemming from politics and the media. Reporting on topics like these, however, complicates things when you note that we’re introverts.
Being belittled as an introvert has been difficult on my confidence. My family insists over and over again that if I want to be successful, I need to be an extrovert. They tell me that if I find comfort in living a solitary life, I’m not going to accomplish anything.
Society is also systematically biased toward extroversion, according to an article by consulting firm Zweig Group. Even in school, students are pressured to have high participation. They realize how conforming to societal standards, such as being an extrovert, is favored.
When put that way, the thought of driving social change as an introvert feels laughable. If I crack under pressure for just raising my hand, I can’t even think about having an impact in a community. But according to an August 2024 article by The Platform for the Business Events Industry, around 40% of business leaders are introverts, the same percentage as extroverts.
In their 2016 book “Quiet Power,” authors Susan Cain, Gregory Mone and Erica Moroz emphasize the notion of a “Quiet Revolution” and how introverts have the potential to be equally impactful in social change as anyone else and “shake the world.” They use a metaphor of stretching like a rubber band, stating that “You can do anything an extrovert can do, including stepping into the spotlight. There will always be time for quiet later. Just return to your true self when you’re done stretching.”
Introverts are not exempt from doing extroverted things. I remember going through a period of extrovertedness at some point in middle school, but deep down, I knew I was “intro” at heart. Now, in 2025, I’ve found a specialty in journalism that allows me to communicate effectively without strictly conforming to a talkative persona.
Yes, talking to people face-to-face is inevitable, but that’s only part of the job. In the past, I’ve conducted interviews on heavy topics for as long as one-and-a-half hours. I was eager to get them over with because my energy was at an all-time low. Yet, I stuck through them because that’s what gives me the edge in being introverted — having the strength to listen and digest the minute details of a story.
Even in the middle of a rally or council meeting, I’ve used my camera to amplify my voice. Sharing my photography has become an indirect way to network with more communities than I could have imagined.
If you ever doubted the ability of introverts, you would be wrong. The writers of the stories I mentioned above are the writers who make the Opinion section — and The Spoke — so strong. We’ll speak when the time comes, with each message more meaningful than the last.
Jeffrey Heng can be reached at [email protected].
