The introvert/extrovert binary makes emptiness after socializing feel like an inevitability to manage rather than a signal to examine. What if the emptiness isn’t about how much you gave, but about what you gave? Service workers performing cheerfulness regardless of how they actually feel. We perform enthusiasm we don’t feel. Surface acting is displaying emotions you don’t feel while your internal state remains unchanged—smiling while you’re frustrated, acting interested while you’re bored.