Lack of variety in interests?

[LittleLemon]

I'm not sure if this is AS related or not.

One of the quirks people playfully make fun of me for is when I say "I don't like watching movies I haven't seen before." I like movies--just the ones I've seen before. If I've never seen one before, I'm not interested in going. The only reason I've seen plenty of movies is my brother making me go with him to theaters and the movies they made us watch in school. I don't count it if it's based on a book I've read.

I have only 3 bands I'm really into and 2 only obsessively. I like a variety of songs from other artists I've heard on the radio, but I have no interest in hearing anything else they put out because I'm not sure if they're any good or not. I'll obsessively listen to anything and everything from these 2 favorite bands because I know I like them.

I don't like getting into a new series of TV show. I have a few shows I love and I have no interest in new ones. I *can* get into them over time though and then I wonder why I wasn't into it a long time ago.

Is this just an odd quirk of mine, or does anybody else feel similarly? I kinda wonder if it's just me not being comfortable with change. It's annoying because if I watched all these shows, I feel it could help connect me a little better in the social world.

 

[hiraeth]

I'd say that the vast majority of the special interests I've ever had are different instances of the same "type" of object. So yeah, definitely a lack of variety there. And they don't happen easily / often either, which is sometimes relieving (as I won't have the energy for it) and other times frustrating (when I don't have an active one or need a break from my active one).

I don't get how people can have the energy to simultaneously maintain a bunch of special interests. I think of it not so differently as how people who are polyamorous can deal with that, multiple "special people", how do you have enough energy to go around and make sure they're all taken care of Okay, I get that part of what special interests do is give you energy, but still, that stuff takes some kind of work and commitment of resources on your part

If I want to get special-interested in something new, that would mean reallocating energy from my existing special interest(s) towards the new one, and over time it would probably mean starting to lose interest in the old one... or, the attempted new interest just won't catch on lol.

 

[LittleLemon]

I'd say that the vast majority of the special interests I've ever had are different instances of the same "type" of object. So yeah, definitely a lack of variety there. And they don't happen easily / often either, which is sometimes relieving (as I won't have the energy for it) and other times frustrating (when I don't have an active one or need a break from my active one).

I don't get how people can have the energy to simultaneously maintain a bunch of special interests. I think of it not so differently as how people who are polyamorous can deal with that, multiple "special people", how do you have enough energy to go around and make sure they're all taken care of Okay, I get that part of what special interests do is give you energy, but still, that stuff takes some kind of work and commitment of resources on your part

If I want to get special-interested in something new, that would mean reallocating energy from my existing special interest(s) towards the new one, and over time it would probably mean starting to lose interest in the old one... or, the attempted new interest just won't catch on lol.

YES! The reallocation of energy! It sounds like a chore to get into something else.

 

[Aidan49]

I feel my interests are varied enough.

 

[ksheehan88]

I'm not sure if this is AS related or not.

One of the quirks people playfully make fun of me for is when I say "I don't like watching movies I haven't seen before." I like movies--just the ones I've seen before. If I've never seen one before, I'm not interested in going. The only reason I've seen plenty of movies is my brother making me go with him to theaters and the movies they made us watch in school. I don't count it if it's based on a book I've read.

I have only 3 bands I'm really into and 2 only obsessively. I like a variety of songs from other artists I've heard on the radio, but I have no interest in hearing anything else they put out because I'm not sure if they're any good or not. I'll obsessively listen to anything and everything from these 2 favorite bands because I know I like them.

I don't like getting into a new series of TV show. I have a few shows I love and I have no interest in new ones. I *can* get into them over time though and then I wonder why I wasn't into it a long time ago.

Is this just an odd quirk of mine, or does anybody else feel similarly? I kinda wonder if it's just me not being comfortable with change. It's annoying because if I watched all these shows, I feel it could help connect me a little better in the social world.

I tend to stick to what I know with music and TV. I listen to the same playlist everyday... it sometimes gets added to if I remember a song I like, but I don't listen to new stuff.

TV is the same - I watch the same shows over and over... The David Attenborough and Brian Cox collections on Netflix I've watched dozens of times and never get bored of them.

People will suggest stuff to me but I'm just really not interested, unless its related to a specific interest of mine

 

[Southern Discomfort]

Yeah. I've listened to Nine Inch Nails so much I eventually burnt out on them. I'd replay music like that constantly, every day for months. Eventually I do get tired of it.

I enjoy replaying a lot of computer games. I've sunk an ungodly amount of hours into games like Oblivion and Skyrim. I think somewhere in the range of 4000 hours into Skyrim.

There's a selection of videos and films on mental conditions like autism that I rewatch all the time or I get stuck to certain parts of them and replay those parts.

Familiarity is the word to use. We like familiarity. There's comfort in knowing something is going to play out in a certain way. We know we're going to enjoy it. I guess you could say that we're terrified of wasting our time on something we might not like.

 

[Destinyz12]

I have a hard time branching out with my interests, particularly when it comes to certain things like new TV shows or new music, or a new hobby. That said, while I do have some movies that I am obsessed with, I do love watching new ones (especially if there's an actor/actress I like in it). I did actually have a friend help open me up with getting into a couple of new TV shows over the past 2 years and I'm glad I did because I really like them but I need persuading with things like that. In general, I feel like too many new shows will take up too much time to keep up with (and I HATE skipping episodes or falling behind on a show I watch) which I attribute to my OCD tendencies with organization. With new music, I just feel like the current music these days is total garbage and I'm not going to find anything new that I like unless someone else seeks out a band for me that they know I'd like. and I also just have enough bands/singers that I got into in my younger years that I can rotate listening to all of those without getting too bored which I've been totally content with.

 

[LittleLemon]

All this makes sense. Thanks for all responses. Southern Discomfort, that's actually the best explanation I could come up with because people thought it was weird. I get really upset when I've just wasted 2 hours of my time watching an awful movie.

 

[korbin]

I am very picky with music I have a few artist and a few songs with those artist, I have 5 cds that play nonstop in my car. As for movies I watch any movie but I tend to re watch those I like often.

 

[On the Inside]

I have a rather narrow range of interests, and am capable of massive amounts of repetition, yet within those interests I have a very wide tastes, especially in music. Movies, television shows, I can pretty much ignore, since I'm not that captivated by visual media. I prefer direct experience. I would much rather take a walk or a bike ride, or simply go to sleep.

 

[Jorg]

Restricted interest is oe of the important signs of asperger, we tend to have few but powerful interest.

For example I love to talk about electronics, cars, videogames...and I thinks that's it, I sometimes talk about other things but no so often.

In movies, I don't go to movie theater so much, only if I really like the movie, like Transformers (see? cars and electronics lol), the simpsons, and marvel ones.