Atypical interests for my age
I have noticed lots of threads on aspies being atypical of their gender or looking younger than their age and the typical "low social age" threads, but how about INTERESTS and age? I tend to have very atypical interests for age. I'm 16 and the only interest I have that people my age seem to have is technology related. My other interests aren't typical.
I like a band called "Great Big Sea" (see more here: http://www.greatbigsea.com/, who don't really have a "target age" but most of their fans are in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties. There are a few younger fans and some older fans as well, 25-35 is the typical of one of them their fans.
Also, my taste in movies is typical of the average 10 year old. I like movies like Shrek and Toy Story. In fact, the only "teenage" movie I have watched that I liked was "The Outsiders". My movie collection is mostly G or PG, I have on PG-13 movie and not R movies. I have no interest in making myself look older to get into R-rated movies. I hate horror and violence.
I also don't have an interest in doing things super rebellious teenage things. (I'm talking about ILLEGAL things such as drinking, smoking and doing drugs.) I don't just not do this things because I don't want to get in trouble or whatever, I just don't have an interest in them, I probably won't even be a drinker when I reach the legal age) I understand that not teenagers are like this, but many are.
Anyone else have interests "atypical" of their age?
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-Allie
Canadian, young adult, student demisexual-heteroromantic, cisgender female, autistic
I'm 27 and I just started watching movies targeted at teens. I play with toys I still watch cartoons. I don't drink or do illegal drugs even though I play in a band.
I did pick up smoking though. Whenever I went outside from some fresh air(but really to get away from people because I became overwhelmed) People said it was weird and I felt self conscious about it. I started smoking as an excuse to go outside... now I wish I had never started.
I got off subject. Yeah, most NT's say I have interests similar to that of their children.
CockneyRebel
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Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 117,790
Location: In my little Olympic World of peace and love
My favourite rock band is The Kinks and I like their older stuff from the Pete Quaife era. Most Kinks Fans are in their 40s 50s and 60s. I don't care because they make me happy.
I like childrens movies like Flushed Away, Babe, Toy Story and Mary Poppins. These are movies that you would expect someone aged 10 or under to like. I also don't care because those movies make me happy.
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The Family Enigma
I have extremely atypical interests. I am heavily into music. But not the 'guitarist who listens to classic rock/metal' cliche. I'm interested in post-rock, using rock themes for nonrock purposes. I also play atypical instruments for my age. I play bowed guitar, tin whistle, double bass and the glockenspiel. The most typical instrument I play is the bass guitar. My musical tastes are kinda... Atypical... As well. I listen to bands and artists such as Sigur Rós, the Who, Explosions in the Sky, Amiina and Björk.
I am also quite into elephants and I love cooking. Especially baking. I'm also quite into PA systems. As you can see, I am more of a musician than anything else.
I don't really watch TV or movies. I find it boring to sit and watch a screen. I prefer to do rather than to observe. I'm more of an auditory person any way. My vision isn't bad, I just prefer sound over light.
I have very atypical interests, both too "old" for me and too "young." I have very old-fashioned tastes, as evidenced by my love for Frank Sinatra's music and I Love Lucy. I developed my love for these and other vintage things (like the 1920s) in early adolescence. But I also love a lot of kids' shows. I watch Nickelodeon very frequently. I love SpongeBob, Ed, Edd n Eddy, iCarly, and Suite Life on Deck. Some of my favorite shows. I also love cutting Tom Tierney-drawn paper dolls (from Dover publishing) and dressing collectible dolls. (I have lots of Lucy dolls.) I've always been the common Aspie paradox of both too mature for my age and too immature.
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Helinger: Now, what do you see, John?
Nash: Recognition...
Helinger: Well, try seeing accomplishment!
Nash: Is there a difference?
Two of my major special interests of the past year, the Tim Burton versions of Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, are rated PG and are presumably intended for children. Though interestingly, when I went to see Alice for the first time, everyone else in the theater was a teenager or older. I also plan on seeing Rango, which is probably going to be the most childish out of any movie I've seen in recent years.
One interest which I recently developed is listening to BBC Radio. My favorite station is 7. I've read that the target demographic for that station is primarily children, though I skip the comedy and kiddie programmes and just listen to the dramatic readings of novels.
I still enjoy watching cartoons sometimes, especially Spongebob. If the cartoon version of Beetlejuice was still on the air, or at least on DVD, I would watch it every single day. Back in 2008 there were full episodes on AOL Video, and I loved it so much it actually almost became a special interest. I was devastated when AOL Video took it down.
The interest I developped throughout my life is... linguistics ! It's not so unusual but people tend to consider that I am far more interested in it than most people.
I also learned things about politics during my adolescence and was interested in philosophy and "mature" subjects.
However... I still enjoy pretend games (Role Play), I enjoy playing like a kid at the beach, I love Disney, Pixar and Ghibli (and I don't mean that I only like the mature ones). I like cartoons and I love the immature activities I can play with young children.
I do not think it's so uncommon among the population to be both mature and immature but my acquaintances are not really the epitome of normality anyway.
I don't have typical intrests for my age, but they aren't really typical of young children either. Mostly because the majority of NT teenagers come across to me as complete morons. In fact, in the last few yeras, I seem to have developed a higher mental age than my actual age in some ways, which is very unusual for an Aspie (and probably contributes to the fact that I'm not technically diagnosed as having AS anymore). I just dislike most mainstream teenage interests.
This is true for me. I have a love of certain movies and TV shows that are aimed at teens or even earlier. I still enjoy lego and clay and similar things that are generally considered children's toys. I think that my special interests from childhood still remain, though at a lower interest level.
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"Like lonely ghosts, at a roadside cross, we stay, because we don't know where else to go." -- Orenda Fink
HECK, I just watched "van wilder, freshman year"! It is a movie OBVIOUSLY targeted at teens about a guy(van wilder) who is in a family where EVERY male went to the SAME college! His father also gave the college a LOT of money. The new principal of the school used to go to the school with the aforementioned father, HATES his guts, his family, etc... The school is very prudish, and has a propaganda campaign to wipe out any sex. Van wilder findss out about this, tells the TRUTH, IN THE CLASS as a substitute teacher, in a raunchy way, etc... You get the idea and probably already know how it turns out.
What's wrong with THAT, it's STILL funny.
BTW Shrek isn't bad either. It's interesting how they took myth and fables, and wove them into a new composite story.
BTW I am ALSO not interested in the very CHILDISH thing of taking "recreational" drugs! That basically happens when kids have a chronological age such that they hear about it and can buy it or are coerced into it. Luckily, WE are pretty much IMMUNE to such coercion by definition.
I was rather weird as a child. I had interests similar to that of middle aged adults! I loved "Les Mis", and "Phantom of the Opera" at age 6. In fact, I was obsessed with them. I started to love Greek mythology when I was about 7 or 8, and when I was 9 I was obsessed with early humans, such as the Australopithecus. Most of these, of course, have been "Aspie" obsessions. I wouldn't stop talking about them, I wouldn't stop thinking about them. Even one of my "imaginary friends" was an Australopithecus girl.
Now, oddly, when I got older, my interests become more "childish". I watch a lot of kids shows, I love movies like "Underwraps", and "Hocus Pocus", "Ice Age", and "Night at the Museum" and shows such as "Penguins of Madagascar", "Pokemon", "Silverwing", and "Phineas and Ferb". I watch a lot of Saturday morning cartoons (if I am up then), and other times frequently watch ABC family. I'm also told periodically that I am either like a little kid (a lot of my literal behaviors, plus interests seem to reflect this, such as still loving stuffed animals) or a middle aged adult (I am often told I write like an older woman).
-Mallory
I like a band called "Great Big Sea" (see more here: http://www.greatbigsea.com/, who don't really have a "target age" but most of their fans are in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties. There are a few younger fans and some older fans as well, 25-35 is the typical of one of them their fans.
Also, my taste in movies is typical of the average 10 year old. I like movies like Shrek and Toy Story. In fact, the only "teenage" movie I have watched that I liked was "The Outsiders". My movie collection is mostly G or PG, I have on PG-13 movie and not R movies. I have no interest in making myself look older to get into R-rated movies. I hate horror and violence.
I also don't have an interest in doing things super rebellious teenage things. (I'm talking about ILLEGAL things such as drinking, smoking and doing drugs.) I don't just not do this things because I don't want to get in trouble or whatever, I just don't have an interest in them, I probably won't even be a drinker when I reach the legal age) I understand that not teenagers are like this, but many are.
Anyone else have interests "atypical" of their age?
I'm pretty much just like you. I'm 16 too and I have no interest in drinking or smoking (both of which you can legally do at my age here), and I certainly don't want to go anywhere near drugs.
I don't want to go to house parties or clubs, I don't want to hang out all day, I don't really want to do anything my peers do.
In fact, I don't even like computer games as much as my peers do.
I do tend to have a similar taste in music, TV shows, and movies to my peers, though.
What's wrong with THAT, it's STILL funny.
BTW Shrek isn't bad either. It's interesting how they took myth and fables, and wove them into a new composite story.
BTW I am ALSO not interested in the very CHILDISH thing of taking "recreational" drugs! That basically happens when kids have a chronological age such that they hear about it and can buy it or are coerced into it. Luckily, WE are pretty much IMMUNE to such coercion by definition.
I never said there anything wrong with liking teenage movies. I just said that I don't PERSONALLY like them.
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-Allie
Canadian, young adult, student demisexual-heteroromantic, cisgender female, autistic