Being an introvert has its advantages and disadvantages in life but when it comes to studying a degree program online such as for the online nursing degree offered at Arizona State University, those pluses and minuses seem to add up much more quickly. There are some situations in life where being an introvert can work to your advantage and being enrolled in an online curriculum just might be one of those times. While it is said that extraverts take better to distance education because of their affinity for chatting and participating in video conferences, there are other aspects of distance education that appeal to introverts as well. Here is a bit about the plus side of online learning as an introvert.
Avoiding Large Groups of People
If there’s one thing an introvert despises, it’s large groups of people. In college there is no way to avoid that unless you take an online nursing program, for example, because there may be a large group but they will all be invisible on the other side of cyberspace and rarely will a majority be online simultaneously. If you fear speaking in large groups, studying in an online RN program would be your best bet.
Not Being Called upon in Class
In conjunction with an introvert’s ‘fear’ of large groups is his or her fear of being called upon in class to provide an answer to the professor’s question. It’s not so much a fear of speaking in class, it’s more the fear of being in the spotlight and then giving a wrong answer on top of that. Introverts prefer their anonymity and that’s something online studies can provide.
No Worries about Trendy Apparel
Introverts also tend to worry about how they appear to others. When studying online you will never need to worry about what you are going to wear to class because class is anywhere you are! Whether you want to study from the park on your laptop, your living room or even your favorite Chinese restaurant. You can work in your underwear (unless it’s video conference day!) or in your jeans or in your favorite lounge pants. It doesn’t matter because no one can see you but you!
You Can Be Anyone You Want to Be Online
Then there is the fear of not being accepted which is big among introverts. In an online RN program (since we are using nursing as our example) you can be anyone you want to be when it comes to chatting with classmates on a joint project. They don’t know who you are, may be a state or two away and you will probably never need to meet them face to face so you can choose an alter ego and be that person throughout.
For these and so many more reasons, introverts tend to do well in most aspects of distance learning. The one common disadvantage seems to be participation in group chats. But as you’ve seen, even that can be overcome because you can create your personality and be anyone you want to be online and no one will be the wiser.