Never really thought about it...

[Skids]

"I've never really thought about it...." is the answer i get from most people when i talk to them about general things. For the most part my mind is constantly questioning and trying to work out why things happen or things are as they are, however most people i speak to about them always seem to say the same thing.

"I've never really thought about it...." they say.

It seems that a lot of things i notice or want to question are deemed unimportant. trivial and irrelevant to the NT people i speak with and i'm just wondering if it's an aspie trait (i'm 42 and diagnosed HFA).

For example. Adverts on TV or indeed any medium really. I am constantly confused as to how adverts work on NT people because i have never compelled to buy anything based on what i'd seen on an advert so IMO they shouldn't work and thus are a waste of time and money.

Just say a car advert comes on and yes it's got cool music and stereotypically smooth actors / actresses but it's just a car. I won't be swayed into buying it one bit even it doubled up as a time capsule just as an added extra. Perfume ads too are baffling. At the end of the day all perfume is is a concoction of vile chemicals you don't really want to be splashing over your skin. I see this and not the allure of the scantily clad women. I see the realism of the advert and not the dream that advertisers are hoping to portray. If this makes sense?

Pretty trivial eh? But how my mind sees things. Like advertisers spend millions on jazzing up their product and so it must work surely? Just not on me then.

Also i don't understand why multinational companies such as McDonalds etc have to waste money advertising. Anyone who has never heard of McDonalds and don't know what they do has either been living in a remote tribe somewhere in the Amazon or are a bit simple. So why do McDonalds need to advertise? Are they going to get extra custom from all these new people who previously had never heard of McDonalds? Surely they could use the money wasted on advertising to pay their staff more?

When i talk about things like adverts i get the response, "I've never really thought about it..".

As if everything i'm noticing (not just about adverts but things in general ) is deemed unimportant or has never even appeared on the radar of people.

It always seems that i notice tiny little details about anything and everything that really actually matter to me and don't seem to matter to anybody else. Like there's more important things to notice or be concerned about for most people which i guess is fair enough.

Another example briefly is about football clubs and the way they are run. I am a huge football fan although i appreciate most people on here won't be. However, clubs promote themselves as community and fan oriented yet don't seem to come up with any innovative ideas to make the whole experience of attending a game and supporting a club a whole new ball game. If you pardon the pun.

There are so many ways a club can make fans feel engaged and rewarded but most don't even bother. Perhaps my friend is part of the reason why.

He supports Barnsley FC and when i constantly go on about this he just doesn't see a problem. He buys his ticket, watches the game and comes home and doesn't seem the slightest bit interested in anything else. Whether the toilets were up to an acceptable standard (they never are), whether the catering is value for money and good to eat (it never is either), whether the club have attempted anything new to engage fans on the day (they never do) or whether the club has attempted anything innovative to reward fan loyalty (they never have).

I notice all the tiny issues a club has and have ideas in how they can be massively improved but most footy fans i speak to don't see any problems. So long as they can go and have a few beers, eat some decaying pie, watch the game and come home then what's to improve?

What is really, really important to me doesn't seem to be even noticed by others let alone important to them.

Another quick example is when you see a Fish and Chip shop and it says on the sign 'TRADITIONAL FISH AND CHIPS'. I always avoid any chip shop that says this as i can read between the lines and work out that the owners have simply added the word 'TRADITIONAL' to make it sound better. You'll find out when you ask them how they prepare and cook their food that it's not traditional at all and just the same as anywhere else. It's a lie. Another blatant marketing ploy to hoodwink NT's who have "never really thought about it...".

From my perspective it's a lie and they are treating me like a mug and it really matters to me but to my friends etc it's a miniscule matter of banal triviality and they go, buy their fish and chips and go about their daily business continually not noticing anything.

Apologies for the long winded post. Does anybody else have this trait or is it just me? It's difficult to deal with as i'm spotting descrepancies in things continually and spotting how improvements can be made or how things should be yet to everyone else they aren't bothered. It's tiring and i run the risk of alienating what friends and family i do have because i'm constantly picking up and analysing things that matter to me but not to others.

Thanks for you patience all!

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Its realy funny how we think about the same stuff on this forum, I can relate to this so much xD.

 

[Kevin1968]

I'm not aware of being influenced by advertising either. Some of it works in that it brings my attention to a new product that I might want to try/use but as you say perfume ads can't really tell me what it smells like (I'm fortunate my wife only likes subtle perfumes)
There is a car advert out recently that mocks the other adverts by removing all the background stuff in the ad, leaving just the car, but it wouldn't influence my choice of car either.

Some research suggests that advertising is less effective on people who are on the spectrum.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...-advertising-falls-flat-in-individuals-autism.
It's likely that advertising budgets aren't wasted if NT's are influenced in ways we aren't.

One big irritation for me, similar to your chip shop one is a voicemail greeting that starts "You have reached XXX", I haven't! I have reached their voicemail box!

Interesting to see you a football fan, I recently read that "nationalism" and by extension the following of football teams is less common among people with ASD. Is your interest more in the skill of the players etc., than seeing particular clubs win? or something else?

 

[Suzanne]

I am the same way and also, when someone says something that is in error, I laugh ( because I know what is expected) and say: don't you mean etc? I get back from someone else: stop, you are going to embarrass yourself and yet, what is said needed to be corrected. How do I embarrass myself, when someone else got it wrong?

My husband, although an nt is also quite aware too and has the same issues with people.

 

[Dadwith2Autisticsons]

I am that way too, though I may not have ASD or Aspergers. I am very much into detail, analysis, nontraditional thinking, and not assuming what I see and hear is true, but wanting to take any issue and either look deeper, break it apart, get to the root causes, or to find some solution or position that has been never thought of before, or rarely considered.

Although this all seems to come natural to me, in my case my traumatic environment growing up was at least partially a cause. For survival I had to make sense of everything, be one step ahead of everyone else, and to think things out and to react accordingly to avoid more pain. Every detail was important, as it could mean not eating, being abused or neglected more.

I was trained to not make mistakes in life and to not mess up, and so this meant I had to be more perfect and not assume things that I saw and heard but to analyze everything to determine the truth and what was best to do or not do. I realized many persons were either maskers, followers, had biases, looked at things generally, or lacked much insight.

So, in my case, I analyze everything from societal issues, human behaviors, myself, and I question everything, and want answers to everything. So, although the love for details and using any logic to dig deeper or uncover the truth or to need things make more sense, that may seem like Aspergers, some others with that condition may instead take things at surface level, generalize or see most things told them as fact.

I lead in my own ways, and although I will listen to other input, do research, I have faith in my own abilities to sift out fact versus fiction, whether coming from political, religious, business, medical or lay persons. I am open minded to everything, but I will take the information I learned, combine it wil my vast experiences and insights, and form usually some conclusion after well balanced internal debate.

With the right social, or other skills, I feel those that have these traits could be great at so many things, whether marketing, inventing, assisting others medically or legally, being an activist, speech writing, designing, and they could excel at many self employment ventures, or at many things where attention to detail, analysis or creativity and thinking outside the box was needed.

 

[Progster]

I can totally relate. Advertising doesn't have any effect on me either, I just find it irritating most of the time, for that very reason, that I see the realism and not the idealism or emotion. I'm not going to buy something just because I saw a commercial, that's just not how I operate. I have plenty examples of my own:

Why are there separate shaving razors for men and women, when both products consist of a razor contained in a piece of plastic? Or different shampoos for men and women? Do women somehow have different hair to men?

Why should I pay for a T-shirt or item of clothing, when it has the name of the firm splashed across the front in big letters, when sports stars and celebrities are getting megabucks for appearing in public with these same items? Surely they should be paying me for advertising their product, not me paying them??? Totally wrong.

Why does Windows tell you that there is a problem, and then have an OK button to close te window??? No, it's not ok. It's a problem. I refuse on principle to press the ok button, and always close the window by the red x.

Why is toilet paper advertised with puppies? What on Earth have puppies got to do with toilet paper?

Why is it ok to appear on a beach with a bikini or Bermuda shorts, but not in a bus or supermarket or other public space?

Why do taxi drivers not have to wear seatbelts while the rest of the world does?

The funny thing is, everybody blindly follows the rules, but when you ask them why, they haven't a clue. They just accept them without thinking about them, because "that's just the way things are", and then expect me to do the same, but if I don't see a good reason for something, I won't accept it and won't play along.

 

[Skids]

In response to Kevin1968. About being a football fan with ASD. I think we all have heard of the annoying 'special interest' phrase when it comes to autism but it's true in this case. I've been obsessed with football since i was a kid but not just because of the football but all of it like kits, league tables, stats like ground names and shirt sponsors and the bizarre fact that people, including myself are prepared to travel for 4 hours just to watch a load of blokes kick a bag of wind about and then come home again.

If i'm being honest i don't like footballers. Well most of them. Almost certainly all at Premier League level. I support a team in league 2 but i have changed clubs in the past due to autism and not being treated properly by those respected clubs. I accept that i can't keep doing that though and i'm happy now with my club and will be forever regardless.

I also don't like other football fans much tbh. Those that sit and watch the game and behave normally are fine but you see so many neanderthals at games and although it's a significant minority, it's every game, every club. I find it tiresome and embarrassing and i find attending games stressful due to the crowds, noise,unpredictable behaviour of others and also parking etc. I do it because if i didn't there wouldn't be much left for me to enjoy in life.

I support Yeovil Town and i'm from Yorkshire. When someone asks me who i support and i tell them they laugh and ask why the bloody hell i support them when i'm from Yorkshire. Then i point out that it's they who support Man Utd and who aren't from Manchester and then they shut up.

For some odd reason it's ok for large swathes of Premier League fans to support clubs from places they've never even been to let alone have ever lived in but if yet if i do the same with a lower league club i'm a weirdo apparently.

Then you ask them how many games they've actually attended and they just say they watch on telly.

What's the point in supporting a football club and never going to games?

Believe me, if you ever struggled to work out NT's then you've got absolutely no chance with most NT footy fans. They're another species.

I support Yeovil because they are a small club. I like small. Less people. Less stress. They also treat their fans well and their fans by and large are all normal human beings and trouble is rare. I also loved holidays in that area when i was younger so thought why not?

Apologies for the football content. I know it's not a popular subject among asd people. lol. Just responding to Kevin.

 

[Gritches]

That's awesome, every good idea starts just like that, imo

 

[Kevin1968]

In response to Kevin1968. About being a football fan with ASD. I think we all have heard of the annoying 'special interest'

Apologies for the football content. I know it's not a popular subject among asd people. lol. Just responding to Kevin.

So it's a special interest, that's understandable (maybe more than the NTs interest).

As special interests go it's probably a useful one to communicate with NTs, a school friend once told me that he only followed some sports to be able to talk about the games with his colleagues etc. but perhaps he was only trying to make me more sociable?

If you have trouble comprehending fans who have never even gone to see their team play live, imagine watching people in Manchester United and Liverpool shirts cheering everytime England loose a game no matter who they are playing against! (I don't care who wins or loses)

The local GAA (Irish games of hurling and football) almost makes sense to me as most have played in school or they have relations and friends who are either former players or are involved in the county team. I used to be glad when the hurling season was over or Tipperary got beaten as it meant a substantial reduction in the sports talk at lunchtime.

 

[DesertRose]

I'm the same way with ads. I criticize them harshly. I've been around awhile, and TV has been a pastime most of my life. Some of these commercials are just stupid. There's many on there that leave you without knowing what the heck they are even selling. I think that we are living in times, where education is not education, because an advertisement should tell you at least what the product is, I man seriously? What the heck was that??? What does it even do??
And the drama, oh my gosh, why? Tell me about your product, what does it do, why should I want it, and why do you need to make a mini drama or movie instead of giving me facts. It's ridiculous. And if you've been around for awhile, you'll notice these "new" products, are not new, just repackaged possibly renamed, about every 5 years. And just how can they sell something for 19.99, yet give a $20 gift card away with it? Are they trying to get rid of the crap that didn't sell the first time?
And don't even get me started on the moral issues. My young son never sees us running around in underwear, but hey, turn on the TV and see strangers parading around. That ain't right. Ughh, I've hated advertising for so long. Oh, and have you ever received one of the 'free' gifts they offer with purchase? What junk. No, they don't influence me to buy, not at all. They never do, or measure up to what the promo says. Lies, all of them. What about drug commercials? Are you serious??? Lots have FATAL side effects. I'm like, really? What do you want us to do, basically trade out one disease for something that can potentially kill us? Sorry for the rant. I'm just so thrilled to see a post of someone else who has issues with ads!

 

[MrSpock]

As special interests go it's probably a useful one to communicate with NTs, a school friend once told me that he only followed some sports to be able to talk about the games with his colleagues etc. but perhaps he was only trying to make me more sociable?

I think that most advertising isn't really about convincing people that the product is good, rather it's about making people think that other people will think they're cool if they have the product. I think that this is what's behind people wanting to advertise for free (t-shirts that turn you into a walking billboard), it's not advertising from their point of view, they're borrowing the cool of a bigger name than they have, it's cool that is often borrowed from celebrities that are even more cool than the company name, this is why the money goes in the direction that it does. IMHO this really shows that the whoever is willing to buy such items is knowingly lacking in cool, it really doesn't make much sense unless you avoid thinking about it. Maybe this is why people avoid thinking about things, it undermines so much social nonsense that seems to be so very important to most people.

 

[OkRad]

HA! This is great! And I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT IT!

I have often wondered why Wal Mart advertises? To whom? As you said-------some unknown tribe in an unknown place somewhere where I would go if there were such a place!

I think a lot. My brain aches from thinking. It literally pulsates sometimes and I am sure at times , if you look closely, you can see smoke raising up from my brain. It hurts , I think so much and then to add on top of it, if I can't stop or direct it, then I have to start memorizing something in Greek to block it.

So my brain is a hideous beast. I like to remind it of the fire at the end which will consume it while I laugh. Hehehe. It really hurts.

At any rate, it became clear to me that most people do NOT think like this when my brother was exasperated when I was asking about the ramifications of cloning on a human being. I was being serious. If you clone a human who has a soul, does the clone have a soul. This was a long time ago when I was excessively religious. It pained me tremendously to think a clone would not have a soul.

If you read this far, thanks. I am having a hard morning and I love being here where I know people understand my thread of thought. So thank you for reading this far.

At any rate, my brother got very adamant and said, "OKRAD! People just do NOT analyze things like you do!!"

Now, he has said this to me many times since then, even recently when I was upset over getting hit and explaining how it would effect the family (which it has). He thought it would not. But people can't just take head shots and be all like "Oh, was that the breeze? "

So, back to your original premise. No, "they" have NOT thought about it. The adverts for McDonalds and Wal Mart are not to bring people IN-----THEY ARE TO STOP PEOPLE FROM GOING OUT.

It is to redeem their image. Wal Mart is so bad there are Vines and Memes on Wal Mart shoppers. So the ads are all slick and cute and fun so you will think "Oh MY Wal Mart is just the exception. All Wal Marts are great but mine! So there was a stabbing at MY wal Mart.......That is just unusual. "

It is to try to get people to not leave the arena.

I still shop there. Because it's just the cheapest. But I am aware.

 

[OkRad]

I think that most advertising isn't really about convincing people that the product is good, rather it's about making people think that other people will think they're cool if they have the product. I think that this is what's behind people wanting to advertise for free (t-shirts that turn you into a walking billboard), it's not advertising from their point of view, they're borrowing the cool of a bigger name than they have, it's cool that is often borrowed from celebrities that are even more cool than the company name, this is why the money goes in the direction that it does. IMHO this really shows that the whoever is willing to buy such items is knowingly lacking in cool, it really doesn't make much sense unless you avoid thinking about it. Maybe this is why people avoid thinking about things, it undermines so much social nonsense that seems to be so very important to most people.

This is why I NEVER where adverts on shirts or hats or any other paraphernalia. It's like a branded cow. Of course some sporting clothes have these on. That's OK and not avoidable. But that is different than ME paying Wheeties $15 to advertise for THEM? Huh?

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

Why is it ok to appear on a beach with a bikini or Bermuda shorts, but not in a bus or supermarket or other public space?

Now you tell me. Explains a lot.

At any rate, my brother got very adamant and said, "OKRAD! People just do NOT analyze things like you do!!"

Weird. Why is your brother using your screen name?

 

[DCA]

I'm going to echo what others have said in that I am rarely swayed by advertising, unless it is for something I'm already inclined to buy anyway. I'd be interested to hear how others on the spectrum are similar, & if this is a more generalized autie & aspie thing?

 

[Mary Terry]

NTs aren't very swayed by advertising, either, and may well tell you that they "never thought about it" in order to avoid a discussion that bores them or avoid an argument about something that they don't really care about. It is an avoidance tactic.

I think a lot of advertising - McDonalds, WalMart, Ford Motors and other big names - is primarily used to repeatedly reinforce the mere name of the company so when you're broke and hungry, you'll think of McDonalds first because you have heard that name so often and associate it with quick, cheap food, or when you need a new vehicle, the name "Ford" will pop in your mind.

Children, including autistic children, are more vulnerable to advertising that adults.

Just out of curiosity, does this website earn money from the advertising that appears here? Is this a clickbait opportunity?

 

[DesertRose]

Children, including autistic children, are more vulnerable to advertising that adults

Which is precisely why McDonald's uses toys in their kids meals. Parents give in to whiney children, thus producing more money for the company. Shameful.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

So why do McDonalds need to advertise? Are they going to get extra custom from all these new people who previously had never heard of McDonalds?

It's a subtle insidious thing.

Advertisers creat markets for products out of our natural human needs.

Mastication? Right. How boring is that?
Look at you losers masticating all day -bored out of your minds.

You need spearmint fresh chewing gum.
All the desirable people will be borrowing it while you masticate together.

There are loads of different subtle reasons why advertising works .

Using sex to create a need. Ie that of being desirable is one.

Like Coke. The body will send a message which turns into a thought - meaning thirst.
Coke has inserted itself in that process.
It's not so much whether you've hear of the company or not.
It's whether you hear the name often enough so that the message 'coke' invades the brain and with a % of people. The impulse of thirst translate into the thought coke.

McDonald's similar. Even though Arby's have the meats

It's that blanket creation. Hunger translated into 'big mac'
Advertising using 'association' and the way the brain works against you.

So the Mcdonalds advertising is like an injection 'booster' into your 'thought association network'
So,for a time, a bigger % of people with a food impulse, convert it into the thought 'big mac'
Associations deteriorate over time which is why advertising is a cook game to be in.
Always more spend.

 

[Mary Terry]

It's a subtle insidious thing.

Advertisers creat markets for products out of our natural human needs.

Mastication? Right. How boring is that?
Look at you losers masticating all day -bored out of your minds.

You need spearmint fresh chewing gum.
All the desirable people will be borrowing it while you masticate together.

There are loads of different subtle reasons why advertising works .

Using sex to create a need. Ie that of being desirable is one.

Like Coke. The body will send a message which turns into a thought - meaning thirst.
Coke has inserted itself in that process.
It's not so much whether you've hear of the company or not.
It's whether you hear the name often enough so that the message 'coke' invades the brain and with a % of people. The impulse of thirst translate into the thought coke.

McDonald's similar. Even though Arby's have the meats

It's that blanket creation. Hunger translated into 'big mac'
Advertising using 'association' and the way the brain works against you.

So the Mcdonalds advertising is like an injection 'booster' into your 'thought association network'
So,for a time, a bigger % of people with a food impulse, convert it into the thought 'big mac'
Associations deteriorate over time which is why advertising is a cook game to be in.
Always more spend.

Well said!

 

[I love roses]

"I've never really thought about it...." is the answer i get from most people when i talk to them about general things. For the most part my mind is constantly questioning and trying to work out why things happen or things are as they are, however most people i speak to about them always seem to say the same thing.

"I've never really thought about it...." they say.

It seems that a lot of things i notice or want to question are deemed unimportant. trivial and irrelevant to the NT people i speak with and i'm just wondering if it's an aspie trait (i'm 42 and diagnosed HFA).

For example. Adverts on TV or indeed any medium really. I am constantly confused as to how adverts work on NT people because i have never compelled to buy anything based on what i'd seen on an advert so IMO they shouldn't work and thus are a waste of time and money.

Just say a car advert comes on and yes it's got cool music and stereotypically smooth actors / actresses but it's just a car. I won't be swayed into buying it one bit even it doubled up as a time capsule just as an added extra. Perfume ads too are baffling. At the end of the day all perfume is is a concoction of vile chemicals you don't really want to be splashing over your skin. I see this and not the allure of the scantily clad women. I see the realism of the advert and not the dream that advertisers are hoping to portray. If this makes sense?

Pretty trivial eh? But how my mind sees things. Like advertisers spend millions on jazzing up their product and so it must work surely? Just not on me then.

Also i don't understand why multinational companies such as McDonalds etc have to waste money advertising. Anyone who has never heard of McDonalds and don't know what they do has either been living in a remote tribe somewhere in the Amazon or are a bit simple. So why do McDonalds need to advertise? Are they going to get extra custom from all these new people who previously had never heard of McDonalds? Surely they could use the money wasted on advertising to pay their staff more?

When i talk about things like adverts i get the response, "I've never really thought about it..".

As if everything i'm noticing (not just about adverts but things in general ) is deemed unimportant or has never even appeared on the radar of people.

It always seems that i notice tiny little details about anything and everything that really actually matter to me and don't seem to matter to anybody else. Like there's more important things to notice or be concerned about for most people which i guess is fair enough.

Another example briefly is about football clubs and the way they are run. I am a huge football fan although i appreciate most people on here won't be. However, clubs promote themselves as community and fan oriented yet don't seem to come up with any innovative ideas to make the whole experience of attending a game and supporting a club a whole new ball game. If you pardon the pun.

There are so many ways a club can make fans feel engaged and rewarded but most don't even bother. Perhaps my friend is part of the reason why.

He supports Barnsley FC and when i constantly go on about this he just doesn't see a problem. He buys his ticket, watches the game and comes home and doesn't seem the slightest bit interested in anything else. Whether the toilets were up to an acceptable standard (they never are), whether the catering is value for money and good to eat (it never is either), whether the club have attempted anything new to engage fans on the day (they never do) or whether the club has attempted anything innovative to reward fan loyalty (they never have).

I notice all the tiny issues a club has and have ideas in how they can be massively improved but most footy fans i speak to don't see any problems. So long as they can go and have a few beers, eat some decaying pie, watch the game and come home then what's to improve?

What is really, really important to me doesn't seem to be even noticed by others let alone important to them.

Another quick example is when you see a Fish and Chip shop and it says on the sign 'TRADITIONAL FISH AND CHIPS'. I always avoid any chip shop that says this as i can read between the lines and work out that the owners have simply added the word 'TRADITIONAL' to make it sound better. You'll find out when you ask them how they prepare and cook their food that it's not traditional at all and just the same as anywhere else. It's a lie. Another blatant marketing ploy to hoodwink NT's who have "never really thought about it...".

From my perspective it's a lie and they are treating me like a mug and it really matters to me but to my friends etc it's a miniscule matter of banal triviality and they go, buy their fish and chips and go about their daily business continually not noticing anything.

Apologies for the long winded post. Does anybody else have this trait or is it just me? It's difficult to deal with as i'm spotting descrepancies in things continually and spotting how improvements can be made or how things should be yet to everyone else they aren't bothered. It's tiring and i run the risk of alienating what friends and family i do have because i'm constantly picking up and analysing things that matter to me but not to others.

Thanks for you patience all!

I get that same statement a lot and they look puzzled and dumbfounded like I must have two heads. It makes me mad sometimes but I just quickly drop it because to go on is alienating. I’m mad that DirectTV went up $50 more dollars to absorb the cost of carrying sports and I do not subscribe to sports. Why don’t the bilk their own fans and not the general public? I hate TV and seldom watch it. But I need it For local news to keep up with community and I watch TV maybe once a month. But I have to pay for football fans football. I may cut my service off seriously.