10 Things Most High IQ Women Have Never Really Enjoyed Even Though Normal People Do
stockfour | ShutterstockHighly intelligent women usually have very different interests from average people. One possible explanation for this could be that really smart people often feel like they don’t fit in, and they have to adapt so that they can be a part of existing systems. The world just wasn’t really built for them.
Some things that seem like a great way for normal people to spend their time don’t work for gifted people. They naturally crave a deeper level of connection and more mental stimulation, so they aren’t satisfied with just anything. Even if a smart woman has acted like she’s enjoyed some of these things in the past, there’s a good chance that she really didn’t.
Here are 10 things most high IQ women have never really enjoyed even though normal people do
1. Small talk
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There may be some situations where small talk is simply unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean high IQ women have to like it. Some people are desperate to fill any silence that comes up, so they grasp at any possible subject, including the weather and current events. These women understand that silence doesn’t have to be filled, especially if it’s with meaningless conversation.
Women who have high IQs are also often emotionally intelligent, so they know the value of deep interactions. They would rather have no conversation at all than one that just doesn’t make sense. This is part of what makes them so interesting and makes other people want to get to know them.
2. Mindless entertainment
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From reality TV to Hallmark movies, the kind of entertainment that’s grabbing most people’s attention these days isn’t exactly a deep intellectual experience. While some may be judgmental of these forms of media, they’re not causing any harm unless you’re watching them in excess. A 2023 study found that some people actually prefer to watch TV and movies that are “so bad it’s good.”
These super smart women don’t really fit into that category. They may watch an episode of “Survivor” to unwind every now and then, just like the average person, but they prefer to hold most of their entertainment to a higher standard. This doesn’t mean they spend all their time watching documentaries, but they probably stay away from predictable 2000s rom-coms.
3. Following trends
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This isn’t really a blanket statement because there are plenty of intelligent women who choose to shop at trendy stores or have their hair cut in a popular style. The difference is they do those things because they want to, not because they feel like they have to. That separates them from other trend followers.
Most people follow trends because of herd mentality, which mental health practitioner Ankita Guchait defined as “a psychological phenomena in which people accept behaviors or ideas just because a large number of other people are doing the same.” This means they’re perfectly fine following the crowd, but smart women like to think for themselves.
4. Boring work
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Being intelligent doesn’t automatically make someone a workaholic or mean they love their job, but it usually means that there is a certain kind of work they prefer. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology proved that people who seek higher levels of stimulation tend to also be more intelligent.
This means that women with high IQs don’t really like tasks that they find boring or overly simple. They hate being stuck with this kind of work at their job because it makes the already slightly unpleasant experience of working even worse. Other employees might welcome something they don’t have to think too hard about, but they still want their minds engaged.
5. Gossip
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Gossip has traditionally been considered a bad thing, but it seems like the general public perception of it might be slowly shifting. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers concluded that “gossipers … gain an advantage over non-gossipers” because they understand how the things people say behind someone’s back can affect their reputation, which encourages them to ensure they don’t give people something to talk about.
That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that gossip can spread a lot of negativity and even cause those who participate in it to become more critical of themselves. Smart women feel like gossip just isn’t worth it, no matter how juicy and interesting it may be. They don’t want to put themselves in a bad position by spreading rumors about other people or by making themselves feel worse in the process.
6. Taking advantage of their social status
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Social class is a pretty controversial topic because there are plenty of people who would argue it really doesn’t matter in the modern era. Statistics show that the gap between the rich and the poor is still growing, so class division remains relevant.
According to a study published in the British Journal of Social Psychology, it’s very difficult to move up in the world through economic mobility. Most normal people don’t actually like this idea, but they don’t mind using their status to their advantage when it works in their favor.
Smart women just don’t feel the same way. Maybe their standing in society could help them meet more influential people or score invitations to the best events, but they don’t see any reason to flaunt it. Respect is something that they believe you should earn through your own merits.
7. Agreeing with everyone else
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Part of being highly intelligent is being an independent thinker and developing your opinions without interference from others. Women who follow this pattern never take an idea at face value and always draw their own conclusions rather than just accepting what everyone else believes.
This means they’re rejecting groupthink, which is a term social psychologist Irving L. Janis coined in 1972 to describe the way people want to agree with each other so badly that they set aside their own beliefs to do so. Groupthink doesn’t sound good, but it’s easy to get caught up in it when you want to fit in. That’s never been the priority for these women, though.
8. Keeping up with celebrities
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There’s no rule that says anyone who’s smart can’t be interested in pop culture or celebrity drama, but women with high IQs often avoid this kind of news naturally because they just don’t really care.
From influencers to actors to athletes, there’s no shortage of people whose names seem to be in the headlines constantly. A lot of people get too caught up in all of this and actually turn it into a form of celebrity worship. Previous research has shown that people who stay caught up with celebrity news this closely are often thought of as less smart and responsible by others, which these women would never want.
9. Doomscrolling
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The term doomscrolling originally referred to people obsessively scrolling through the news on their phones, but now it means any kind of endless scrolling, including on social media. Psychiatry professor Dr. Richard Mollica said that women actually have a greater risk of getting caught up in doomscrolling because bad news typically centers on women and children.
While other women deal with anxiety, insomnia, headaches, and concentration problems from spending hours on their phones consuming content that doesn’t benefit them in any way, intelligent women know that it’s best to be more intentional about how they use their phones to stay happy and healthy.
10. Doing the same thing every day
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Experts have always extolled the virtues of having healthy, stable routines, but everyone seems a bit more obsessed with them now that posting videos of your aesthetically pleasing morning and evening routines is a regular occurrence on social media. Routines can definitely be beneficial for people and help them stay on track to reach their goals, but they can also have negative effects.
Sticking to a strict routine makes normal people feel productive, but it leaves smart women feeling like they’re stuck. Doing the same thing day in and day out just doesn’t work for them, and it doesn’t engage their brains the way that switching things up does. Taking a small, spontaneous step can make them feel much better.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
