According to surveys, nearly half of the U.S. population (about 48%) is shy. For most of them (80-85% of shy people), their shyness is an invisible struggle, with no external signs of their discomfort. For the remaining 15-20%, their shyness is displayed for everyone to see.
(Carducci and Zimbardo, Psychology Today, 1995)
Shyness is nervousness or fear around people and in social situations. Children and teens who suffer from shyness have difficulty making friends and dealing with people, especially strangers. Being shy is frightening and often embarrassing, and it is monstrously difficult to overcome.
This LibGuide provides resources for children and teens about shyness and how to work on overcoming it. It also provides resources for people close to those children/teens (parents, teachers, counselors, etc.) on how to help and support, as well as understand, the shy people in their lives.
Meagan Jaggers is a high school student at Community Montessori and an intern at the Indiana University Southeast library. She decided to help create this LibGuide because she has been shy all her life and is trying (mostly unsucessfully so far, but still trying) to get past that, and she wants to let others like her know that they are not alone and help them achieve their goals. She plans to be a scientist when she gets older, but is still uncertain as to the specific field she wants to go into.