Zhou Ziea. How to look at the MBTI epidemic dialectically [EB ol].（2023-12-22）
Since MBTI suddenly became popular on the Internet, as a netizen, I have seen many hot searches such as "the darkest moment of INFP", "the sitting posture of E and I", "the difference between E and I chatting" and so on. At first, everyone could smile and ridicule each other when they saw this kind of topic, but over time, when I clicked on such a hot search again, I found that the evaluation of netizens gradually changed. For example, in the entry "INFP's darkest hour", the most popular comment is "INFP's darkest moment is to see the hot search on INFP again, and INFP has become a fashion item." Everyone's argument about "IE" has also turned into a helpless and sarcastic ridicule, "Don't let me see anything in the Spring Festival Gala 'blind date i e family, everyone makes dumplings together'." "Actively or passively labeling "i-person" and "e-person" seems to have become a social phenomenon. Why are people so flocking to it?
Positive: Scientifically divide the types to heal social differences
The leap in science and technology has expanded the boundaries of social interaction, but it has also made many young people "stuck" in the dilemma of interpersonal communication. However, as the understanding of "I person" and "E person" becomes more and more deep, many people find that their fear of "not being able to socialize" is decreasing. When people who consider themselves "social phobia" transform into "i people", the group readily accepts the label and says, "i is looking inward and gaining energy through solitude and immersion." E people are looking outward and gaining energy through socializing. When young people get out of the "short and long" that is too much on social topics, they find that whether it is i or e, it is just a way of life, and there is no need to deliberately pursue to become a party king who is comfortable in social interactions.
The full name of MBTI is "Myers-Briggs Type Index", which is based on the eight psychological types divided by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, and is a personality type theoretical model jointly formulated by American writer Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother Catherine Cook Briggs. Therefore, MBTI has a certain psychological significance, so it is easier for people to be listed as "professional" and "authoritative", and use professional theories to explain their personality and behavior, so that the interesting label of MBTI for themselves is also scientific, interesting and scientific, and it seems that it is not unreasonable for young people to accept it.
Negative: Stereotypical performances alienate personality
On the Internet, Professor Xu Mofan of China Normal University gave a speech for the opening ceremony of the Department of Chinese, with the theme of "Beware of the Trap of Language", and the professor said at the end of his speech, "We live in the world of language symbols, not a physical world, which is a great progress of mankind, but it is a double-edged sword." ”
The MBTI test classifies and labels different groups of people, and people use this label to interact. Nowadays, young people's social interaction is not only based on age, hobbies, and occupation, but also more often join the question "What are you?"."MBTI has become a tool for people to use test results to label interactions and make quick judgments about other people's personalities, but when we learn about the MBTI of the other person, it is easy to label the other person a priori, understand and interact with the other person based on previous stereotypes of a certain personality, and even develop feelings of preference or disgust. For example: Are you an ENFP?Then you must be a "happy puppy", a very social optimist!
The 16 personality classifications of the MBTI test provide natural "symbols" in people's interactions, and people use a certain personality symbol to identify themselves and participate in social interactions. People are performing in the digital virtual space, and even nomadic in various roles. [1] The emergence of MBTI has put many people in the situation of "performers", and even alienated the personality of the person itself, when the sense of self-identity of MBTI continues to rise, people will blur their self-perception and use this "label" to explain their behavior, such as: Because I am such and such MBTI, I will do something.
The MBTI test initially strengthens people's perception of themselves, and people build a clearer self-portrait through the MBTI test, but too much immersion and substitution will bring the risk of alienating themselves and others.
Conjunction: Symbols bring convenience, but they are also fraught with risk
The explosion of MBTI has actually brought about the reappearance of an old problem - the symbolization of people, commonly known as "labeling". We are often asked the question when we live or work, "What kind of person are you?".Or, more extremely, "Sum yourself up in 3-5 words", and I've had many experiences with that myself. These questions confuse me and even cause me anxiety – please make a concise summary of yourself.
But is this a wrong process?It is just following the principle of efficiency first, and strive to get the most concise information in the shortest time, our society and our lives sometimes have to work like an assembly line, packaging labels and redistribution, compressing and recompressing huge information, so as to achieve the highest degree of efficiency and universal fairness in this fast-paced era where time is money - this is the convenience brought to us by "symbols". However, as mentioned above, while symbols bring convenience, they also have the hidden dangers of reinforcing stereotypes, blurring self-understanding, and alienating personality.
Symbols, he can carry a huge amount of information, and the proper use of it will benefit a lot;But at the same time, he is also the sword of Damocles, a danger that cannot be ignored.
1] Wang Siqin. Research on Self-Identity and Group Identity of MBTI Interest Group[J].Audiovisual,2023(12):105-108doi:10.19395/j.cnki.1674-246x.2023.12.029.