Your Social Life Are You A Fox Or A Hedgehog Analysis

People often require different types of social stimulation, as well as different amounts, as we often see between extroverts and introverts. In “Your Social Life: Are You a Fox or a Hedgehog,” by Pamela Haag she goes over the differences between the interpersonal “fox” and the intrapersonal “hedgehog”. Although, Haag seems to have a bit of bias, she discredits the fox while praising the hedgehogs, although it could just be based on a personal social interaction preference. Haag seems to favor the hedgehog over the fox, while claiming both are equally as important. She noticeably forgets the concept of differing social needs.

Haag mentions that foxes will often crave more social interaction even after just speaking with someone. This is quite

natural for more extroverted folk. Some people do not necessarily crave the close personal bonds that hedgehogs and introverts hold, and there is nothing wrong with that. Stating that “the fox social life might corrode from the imperative of having the hedgehog social life” (399), Haag seems to feel as if one is taking from the other, or that the hedgehog is more valuable than the fox, when all it could boil down to are personal social desires and needs. One should not be praised more than the other simply because they have less personal relationships in some cases.
Haag considers time on social media is time not interacting intimately as humans. She tells the readers about a two-hour period of time where she spent it on Facebook rather than doing what she was supposed to do, ignoring the fact that she was engaging in stimulating conversation, a different media of social interaction, but interaction nonetheless. “I only knew the original poster, none of the others, but it felt like a first day in a good college seminar” (399) Haag states. So why is this a bad way of social interaction? It is a new way to begin relationships, like those college seminars did.
Looking at the vocabulary and style of writing Haag uses while talking about foxes also adds to the idea that she favors the hedgehog over the fox.

In the fox or hedgehog quiz a few of the points supposedly based on fox behavior seems to have a negative diction, stating that “you don’t actually know who all of your friends are” and “some of your friends might be inmates or precocious ten-year-olds, and you wouldn’t know” (400). While under the hedgehog category there are more gentle statements, such as “you gave your friends a hug” or “you have actually visited the home of a friend” (400). Haag added a bit of pretentiousness to her writing by including statements like these. She also seems to be forgetting the concept of pen pals, or long-distance friendships, while discrediting the judgement of the foxes of being able to safely add friends on Facebook. She makes everyone err towards the side of hedgehog because being a fox sounds so negative and superficial, when there are plenty of people who obtain the social interaction they need simply by messaging someone, or emailing

them.
People are different, they have different interests, different likes different dislikes, and different ways of interacting socially.

Haag, while trying to remain neutral, seems to paint the fox in a negative way. Implying that the foxes are superficial, and do not value close, personal relationships like the hedgehog population. Though does it really matter how people decide to interact with one another? All that should matter is that people are interacting, learning new things about people, and exploring new relationships. It is not fair to those that are more on the fox side of the spectrum to be represented in a negative or shallow light. Haag tries to make the hedgehog the star of the show, but the fox is just as important. There is nothing wrong with interacting via social media, so long as you are using it positively, it should not matter how we interact with one another, just that we

do.