Why Are (Most )Programmers Introverts?
What’s The Real Reason Here?!
To everyone who isn’t a programmer that’s reading this, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word programmer? Is it a super genius kid? Is it an introvert? Whatever you might think of programmers, you probably think they’re socially awkward.
And that is true, to some extent. I can personally say most programmers I’ve met are socially awkward( introverts). But why is that? Why are programmers introverts?
Well, that is what we’re going to cover in today’s blog, and hopefully find an answer. So let’s look at some of the research I did:
Why Are Programmers Introverts?
Personally, before doing my research, I thought that most programmers are introverts because even after they’re finished coding, they continue to stay at their computers, or they don’t go outside.
And, there might be some truth to that, but if we want to prove my point and/or get a better understanding of the problem, we need to look at how introverts are “made”.
According to webmd.com:
Causes of Introversion:
Researchers have found that introverts have a higher blood flow to their frontal lobe than extroverts do. This part of the brain helps you remember things, solve problems, and plan ahead.
Introvert brains also react differently to dopamine than extrovert brains do.
But now the question arises: “Are people born introverts?”. Everyone is built differently, some people are naturally more athletic than others, does the same rule apply to the frontal lobe?
Well, according to introvertdear.com:
Introversion isn’t totally genetic. It gets influenced by your environment at a young age, and our genes allow a certain amount of flexibility in response.
So, yes. Introversion is partly genetic( It’s also important to remember that introversion, is NOT a mental disorder, but personality, via/ avalonmalibu.com).
Now we know about introversion, but we still don’t know why programmers are introverts. Well, a user in quora.com, brilliantly answered this:
Question: Why are most programmers introverts?
It would be more apt to say introverts are more inclined to choose programming as their profession because it needs more solo-work and relatively less peer interaction compared to fields like management, consulting, sales, marketing, etc.
Another user said:
I would say there’s correlation there, but not causation.
As it turns out, the majority of people in the field are more on the introverted side, but there isn’t anything about introversion that leads to more aptitude in software.
At a guess, I’d say that introverts are more likely to spend time on computers, and when making a decision about what to do in college, it makes sense to follow what they’re familiar with, much like an extroverted person may be drawn towards business.
Also, by most, I mean likely more than 50%. There are a lot of extroverted software developers though.
u/ Wes Winn
And I agree 100% with both of those answers. I guess you could define this as:
Programming doesn’t make introverts. Introverts choose programming!
That was all for today’s blog! Hope you enjoyed it😁 and don’t forget to 👏!
