Meridian191 wrote:
I think it's an exaggeration. Like other people in this thread have already said, there are many adults who are being diagnosed, and more parents are becoming more concerned about their children. Plus, medicine is a growing industry in our modern economy, so frankly doctors want people to be sick so they can refer new patients to each others' specialist practices.
In addition, I think the introvert personality is becoming increasingly marginalised. The extroverts, with their ability to maneouvre with people, organisations and systems, are taking over. This can't go on forever, and I'm not saying that one day extroverts will rule the world entirely. Nor do I think introverts will turn the tide and dominate the world, either. But I'm watching it happen: being accused of being unsociable or very quiet like is being accused of being a nasty person: people judge. At my university, no-one studies in the quiet libary anymore, everyone wants to study while listening to music sprawled on a lounge, simultaneously chit-chatting with their friends. When I want to learn something, I want to learn where my ears aren't going to be ripped apart by the booming echo, and where I'm not going to be bothered every two seconds. I admit, I have studied while socialising, but I did it alone with a friend, not with the local Pretend to Study Club.
Anyway, introverted kids are probably getting sent to the doctor nowadays, whereas 20 years ago they would have just accepted that they are shy (that's what happened to me in the late '90s). I have also noticed that the stupider the person, the less accepting they are of introverts and the more likely they are to bully or marginalise them.
Damn, I feel like Karl Marx writing about class warfare. Anyway, that's just my opinionated two cents based on my personal experience.
I go on here in the library but do actually spend time studying. Althuogh I don't listen to music or talk to people I know that much.