Active vs Passive Viewing

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Are you more likely to be actively watching shows, not just vegging in front of the TV and switching channels? I think that aspies tend to be active watchers, especially women.

As I am currently unemployed and between voluntary positions, when I don't have anywhere else to be (and I generally don't) I watch TV all day - at least 10 hours. While not every show is my favourite I watch each attentively, with the same level of concentration I afford a lecture. I am studying the human psychology, the sociological significance of the characters depicted and their actions, comparing the choices and responses of the characters to my own and those of people I know, learning from it all.

Obviously TV is my special interest but as an intellectual woman this is something difficult to admit and generally not well-received. People are disappointed that someone so clever is wasting their time staring at the idiot box. But I learned so much from television growing up - it's where I first heard about the books and themes and theories and history that I later studied with books and that took me to the academic path I'm now on. And more importantly, it helped me to learn social skills and how to read people. I have read that it is common for girls with AS to become obsessed with TV for that very reason.

Anyone else relate to any of this?

I am definitely an active watcher.

I'm so active that right now I basically don't watch tv anymore for more than a few minutes, I feel a constant urge to do something, and so I spend all my tv time playing videogames. There are some movies and anime that in theory I'd like to watch, but then I never actually do because of my restlessness. ADHD ?

I've gotten to the point where watching in "real time" is not active enough. I hate the thought of letting even a line of dialog pass me by. So most of the time, I watch recordings of the shows I want to see. My need to completely understand what is going on is so great, that I will replay a scene, just to be certain I understand the characters' motivations. And on DVDs, I will watch with the subtitles turned on at least once, to be sure I catch every word.

When the television is on, I MUST pay attention - I can't tear myself away. The need to watch can be so strong - even for shows that I don't really like - that I felt I had become a slave to the television schedule.

(Now that I know I have AS, I'm almost certain that the rapidly changing images flashing on the TV screen are a large part of what captivates me.)

My "solution" is to only watch recorded programs. That way, I never miss anything in the program I'm watching - and I can free myself from all those shows that I used to watch because the television was on.

It really depends for me...

With what I watch during primetime(which unfortunately includes 2 reality shows each respectively in the 10pm slot monday and tuesday nights) I do tend to watch more actively and "get into" what's going on" on screen

With my day time viewing I'm more passive, not to say I'll go back and forth between a dozen channels ata a time, but I will choose two shows and use one as filler during the other's commercials. The only exception to this is Y&R between 4:30-5:30 because my mother bellows at me(not really, I'm overexaggerating to make a point) if I put Friends on, as she thinks I won't get back to the soap in time.