So, when I started hearing “social competition” or “competitive socialization” with increasing frequency, my first instinct was that this is just another phrase trying to package something old in language that sounds new. Competitive socialization provides people with a framework for being together. That matters because I think many people, not just introverts, are less comfortable with unstructured socializing than we like to admit. I also think social media has made many people both hyper-connected and oddly under-confident in person. So no, I don’t think competitive socialization is just another over-polished industry term.