What about society's special interests?

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We all like to talk about our own fixations that we're into--shows, hobbies, fields of study. But now that I think about it, doesn't society at large have its own special interests? Maybe we're not so different from the rest in that regard. The following are things that, from my own observations, most people just can't stop talking about.

Drugs. Pot, crack, heroin, etc. What is the fascination with these things? There's nothing special about mind and mood-altering substances; they've been around forever. And yet I still see people talking about them constantly, especially online. Every song that's not about love? Must be about drugs. A video of someone acting strangely? They must be on drugs. The tipping point was a vid of Captain Picard from Star Trek dealing with the emotional onslaught of a mind-meld with the Vulcan Sarek (long story) and half the comments were "Picards on LSD LULZ!! !" I want to slap these people.

Race. Never fails. It's one thing if people talk about race in a constructive manner, in a situation where they can prove it's actually a relevant factor. But if you're still harboring outmoded beliefs from 200 years ago, or you're an overcompensating liberal who still believes everything they told you in community college--those people need to do themselves a favor and stop talking. Anything they have to say about skin color will only generate endless, pointless debate and resolve nothing. If you and the people around you accept that race doesn't matter, that's half the battle. But society just can't let it go.

Nazis & Hitler. I forget the name of the rule that says any Internet discussion that goes on long enough must devolve into irrelevant nonsense about Hitler, Nazis, and the Jews. But there's a lot of truth to it. Don't people remember anything else about American history besides World War II and the Nazis? At this rate even the Germans will move on before we do.

Darkness. Just darkness in general. Popular culture is obsessed with this notion, teens especially. Dark movies and TV shows (both in terms of subject matter and actual lighting), dark book series, dark music...and if it's not sad, bleak, sadistic, and anti-hero-ish enough for you, make it even darker. That's what fan fiction is for. (Some people may tell you it's about trying to write your own original take on a show and its characters, but they are crazy. Bring on the cancer, car accidents, Twilight rip-offs, and zombies!) I thought this would just be a 90's thing, but two decades later it's still going strong. And it's all so superficial, have you noticed that? People will dish out relentless optimism to each other all day long but then go home and watch 'Gotham.' But that's another discussion.

So there you go: four special interests that NT's out there can really appreciate. But go wild over something original, like the First Boer War or the history of the pneumatic subway, and suddenly you're WEIRD.

What's your take? Feel free to point out more NT obsessions if I've forgotten any.

Last edited by Evil_Chuck on 01 Feb 2015, 1:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

mimicking psychopathic behaviors.

Sport is a big one. I can respect people who enjoy sport when they play it, but I don't get people who just watch it. How's that fun? Cricket is the worst. It has to be most boring game in the world. Imagine the mechanics of Baseball with the nail-biting tension of paint drying.

Animal Cards were handed out by one of the major Australian grocer chains as part of a promotion. People trade them and put them into albums. It was really big here a few months. I just don't get it. I think the pictures are kind of stupid.

Reality Television is another. The Bachelor was so big here that when the Bachelor went back on his commitment there was a vague national outcry. My sister watches Big Brother, and it is a show where they find the most tedious, pointless people in the country and make them talk about each other behind their back. I actually like So You Think You Can Dance a little bit, because the dancing is quite good. They have a judge, a British guy called Nigel, who exudes credibility because he leaps up and dances if he feels the situation calls for it.

Cooking Shows were big a while back, and their appeal makes no sense. You can't eat food from television. If they invented Wonkavision I'd be more interested.

Hating refugees is a key principle of Australian political life. Both big parties endorse incarcerating anyone who shows up on a boat without the correct paperwork, and they compete on devising increasingly less humane punishments. As far as I'm concerned, you can't call yourself a moral human being if you consider the persecution of refugees to ethical.

Frozen was big this time last year, and it just doesn't appeal to me. The eyes were too big.

Love stories are ubiquitous in every form of media, particularly song. I don't think love stories are that interesting, certainly not fascinating enough to be as common as they are. People do things besides fall in love. This is especially a problem in pop music. I don't mind homosexual love stories so much, but I'll probably get sick of that kind as well if it became common.

Fashion doesn't annoy me or anything, I just don't see the appeal or need for it. I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I think that all the clothes we need may already have been invented.

Booze is often considered a drug, and I think that consuming it is less than wise. As far as I can see, it brings nothing but temporary and permanent impairment. It is often cited as an aid for socialization, but I say that socializing isn't worth that sort of degradation.

So yeah. That's what I think. The Nazi rule is called Godwin's Law.

As usually I agree with olympiadis,
my special interest (one of) is the manufacturing of society's interests

Their interest in dumb stupid people esp celebs who contribute nothing of use to society. As a girl its irritating and fascinating to see people obsessed with Kim K snd Marilyn Monroe. Both are famous for being pretty and dumb (or rather portray themselves as such). Kim let a man pee on her, and nts love it. Im fascinated by this nt fascination. Its a smart strategy whether or not its purposeful bc reisearch has shown the most in demand women are pretty but dim.

Dont get me started on Honey boo boo...

I think War & conflict is something we could add to this list.. people/nations become so focused on this that they lose sight of all of the other things they forego in order to finance war with their time/money/energy etc.

Other people's lives: People love to know everything about other people's lives. Only to discuss it later to other people. I hate gossip so much. It's so boring and yet so disturbing that people can obsess over each other and is seen as a good thing ? And it's everywhere you go. I thought after school and being surrounded by adults this would stop but no, exactly the same "X and Y did this this weekend, blablabla". Get a life people!

And I'm seen as the weird one for wanting to talk about video games during breaks ? Really ?!

You're not the only one. In Israel, everyone hates the Sudanese and say they carry diseases, are here to steal our jobs, and rape our girls. Although they commit no more crime than the average population, i think. They're thrown in jail, including babies. a ten year old was put in solitary confinement once for a month. he stopped talking, turned as mute as a non-verbal kid, and will probably suffer from the scars for the rest of his life. we have turned people back to their death in the past, including children. refugees are also locked up in usa, and according to wikipedia, many have died from horrible conditions, and in uk, women were raped. you're in good company.

i think society put too much emphasis on 'being like everyone else.' my parents kept telling me to always watch what the other kids were doing and mimick them. follow the herd. whatever it is that others are doing is acceptable, because others are doing it. and society is obsessed with this.

also society is obsessed with making everything look good on the outside, instead of making everything ok. just pretend everything is ok. you cant hit your kids, that's child abuse because it's open and can be seen. but you can take away their pet, that's not child abuse. i'm sure a kid who's hit with a belt will suffer much less than a kid whose beloved pet was taken from him. no, my parents never did this to me. but i know some people who'd done this. as long as it looks good on the outside, then it's ok.

society is obsessed with makeup and fluffy hairdos, high heels. they're uncomfortable and unhealthy.

I think most NTs and NT culture has a special interest in sex that borders on obsession. Almost every TV show constantly discusses it, commercials are filled with it, and the message is constantly pushed that if you aren't having it you are loser and there is something wrong with you.

I agree about the thing about sex. It's everywhere I go. I can't get away from it. It's on magazines, billboards, bus shelters, TV, radio and the Internet. I'd like to get away from it.

It seems that the other thing that mainstream society are obsessed with, is the Gender Binary. Pink is for girls, blue is for boys. Boys play with vehicles, girls play with dolls. Men are strong, women are weak. I hate it. I just hope that one day, transgendered children will no longer have to go through the crap that I went through growing up. While most women are on diets and learning new ways to be normal, I take pride on being and looking similar to a chubby, sensitive male rock star who's likely on the spectrum.

+1 sports obsession

I'm amazed that a country can be so obese but yet so obsessed with sports at the same time. Football is:

Twenty-two boys on the field badly in need of rest, and 40,000 people in the stands badly in the need of exercise” was said in 1963 -Bud Wilkinson (1916-1994),