Are You an Only Child?

Only child here too.

And I'm kinda weird.

I am a only child. And I am an INTJ, and supposed to be a nerd and weirdo(courtesy my friends). So, maybe this is the cause of my strange nature?

Ok then guys, for those of you who answered, would you be able to tell me what entertains you? Entertainment in society doesn't seem to include sitting in silence listening to music or reading, and most of the time, introverts are unfairly seen as extremely boring, which is a great misconception and an introvert at a young age is usually discouraged from engaging in activities which secludes them from others, and are often always forced to participate in group activities.

I find that education systems in early childhood seem to try and put the scare into an introvert to force them to change, and make children think that what they are doing is wrong, that being by yourself educating yourself, entertaining yourself or making yourself happy by being by alone. They will often give children with an introverted mind labels that can usually appear in school reports, and make the parents of these children think that their child is impaired and hindered in some manner.

Or at least that happened to me, anyway. I always thought that by being by myself I was doing something wrong. How can keeping yourself happy by yourself be possibly bad? You don't need to be in with a group of people exchanging anecdotes to be "normal".

reply to post by Angry Potato


Entertainment? I love to read. I love music. The occasional television show. Surfing the net. Sure, society may see it as boring, but I am not in this life to please society.

One thing I find with myself is that I have to have some sort of background noise no matter what I am doing. I may pay no attention to it at all, but I need the noise. Whether it be the TV on or music playing or a sound machine to help me sleep at night. I may not be paying attention to the noise, but silence creeps me out.

reply to post by Angry Potato


I myself am an only child and what you said in your first post is true about me.

I was on only child for about 6yrs. I love time by myself. I do like the company of others from time to time though--but it has to be close friends & family.

My spouse, however, is the 3rd of 4 children & always wants to be in the company of many people.
I'd rather just stay in & spend time together.

I think the best part of being an only child is the learned behavior of being able to stay in solitude for long periods of time while attaining some deep satisfaction from it. I love my alone time so much.

Originally posted by Angry Potato
Ok then guys, for those of you who answered, would you be able to tell me what entertains you?

The t.v entertains me, that and reading my Harry Potter books and science magazines.

Only child as well .

One thing that I remember as a only child was spending a great deal of time interacting with adults rather then children , there by being involved in more adult conversation and being made aware of many things that others , who had siblings , might not have been made aware of until much latter on .

To agree with the others before me , I do enjoy my share of alone time , which is as some of you have already stated , difficult for my girlfriend to understand .

Things that entertain me , reading , spending time on ATS , watching a good online documentary or playing with my Green Cheek Conure .

Edit to add : I was raised by 3 Great Aunts as well as one Great Uncle , all of which were well into retirement when they took me in at the age of 1 year .



[edit on 31-1-2009 by Max_TO]

Yes, I'm an only child; And used to be extremely introverted. That changed when I got into the entertainment/music business and was forced to "act up" for the audience. It took a long time before I became comfortable in front of people. Now as I'm older, I wonder where the fear came from.

I was heavily introverted until age eight.

I'm a normal person now, and surprisingly social, considering I'm still very very shy sometimes. I suppose it's all about finding ones niche.

As far as activities go, I'm still kind of stuck in my books, writings, studies, various arts projects and what not....but I'm better at balancing out my social life these days. It's important for me to do so, even if I'm one of those "listening" types more than a speaker.

I am an only child and I am very comfortable with my own company. I am an introvert but I also enjoy the company of others but need alone time to get centered.

reply to post by Angry Potato

I spend alot of time on the internet doing research. I think that because I am alone I learn alot more than most sociable people. I do what interests me instead of being apart of the group mentality. My boyfriend is one of eight children and has learned that I get overwhelmed in large groups. I am much better in small groups of people or on a one to one.

Only child. Last in the bloodline with no offspring, the name dies with me. RH- factor to boot. Paternal line deep in Confederate lineage. You guys do the math. My hobby and passtime is madness, paranoia with a tinge of schitzophrenia. Cheers.

My favorite forms of entertainment would be reading and listening to music.

I am also entertained doing puzzles, craft projects, crocheting, needlework, that sort of stuff.

I laughed when I read this.

When I had to go to a shrink in 2004 she had assumed until about a month or so into the sessions that I was an only child. She was quite surprised that I was actually a middle child.

I was a middle child only until 7...after that I was separated from my siblings to live with my Mother.

Even as a little kid though I behaved more like an only child, a loner, very independent, introverted...spent hours and hours alone.

It's curious, but I suppose there are exceptions to every rule.

I prefer quiet, less people around, and even before 7 I was perfectly content playing alone.

[edit on 2/1/2009 by justgeneric]

I'm an only child, but I'm an extrovert (barely). Right on the border with that one. I used to be more of an introvert, but it keeps changing.
I'm AB+, about 3% of the population. I'm an ENFP, about 5.5% of the population.

The name dies with my cousin and I, as we are both female.

[edit on 2/1/2009 by ravenshadow13]

Only child here..as in, no other siblings.
Won't say any more than that.

As to entertainment - love long, solitary trips. Music...quiet...dont like my space invaded.

I dont confide in many people.

Didnt understand how to handle conflict situations when I went into school. Because my main interaction was with adults, I always reasoned rather than fistfight.

I didnt get group politics and still dont! It's a slight handicap.

I love reading, films, my dogs...cooking...close friends...

I always find a need long periods of downtime and dont like people turning up unannounced...

I found I trusted people too much as I didnt understand the political environment and got burned.