Page 1 of 2 [ 20 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

Alla
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 1 Dec 2008
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Posts: 350
Location: Cork, Ireland

26 Dec 2009, 3:48 am

Is it an aspie tendency to eavesdrop or overhear other people's conversations? I do it sometimes in order to not ask direct questions of people and to learn more about their personal lives. As people have a tendency to put on a mask in public, by listening to others without being noticed you can learn a lot of things about that person.



26 Dec 2009, 3:56 am

Only on accident. Sometimes my ears catch what someone says and then I started listening if it's interesting. Like yesterday, I overheard my mom talking about me to my cousin and my husband. All it took for her was to say my name for me to listen and she was talking about how "brutally honest" I am.



Tim_Tex
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Jul 2004
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Posts: 46,672
Location: Houston, Texas

26 Dec 2009, 3:59 am

I don't do it.


_________________
Who’s better at math than a robot? They’re made of math!


mysassyself
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jul 2009
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,222
Location: my house, usually

26 Dec 2009, 5:17 am

I have done it accidentally.

I think one of the problems I've had in the last few years with socialising is that I seem to have better or more articulate hearing than ordinary people (it's with eyesight too).

I can sometimes hear things from across a crowded room - I once repeated to a friend what he had said (he was across the room) and he was pretty amazed.
i think there is a general aspie tendency to have sensitivities like this.

I can get easily distracted in social environments. It's almost as if my brain 'wants' me to eavesdrop.

So, now that I have some awareness about it, I can focus more easily. Also I don't care as much at all for being in social situations.

Anyway, no, I don't think I would ever do it deliberately - if it accidentally happens I am really uncomfortable with it.


_________________
.. one day
in murky water mild,
where Wednesday lay
A Thursday child ..


gramirez
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 Nov 2008
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,827
Location: Barrington, Illinois

26 Dec 2009, 10:49 am

I HAVE to do it - otherwise, people would never tell me anything, or they'd talk about me behind my back. I have to eavesdrop a lot on my mother and her phone conversations. I don't give a crap if it's illegal - no one is keeping anything from me.


_________________
Reality is a nice place but I wouldn't want to live there


blue_bean
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,617
Location: Behind the wheel

26 Dec 2009, 11:08 am

I can't seem to help doing it in my workplace as I'm in one room with two other people. Someone comes in to socially chit-chat with one person and I automatically turn around to listen. I don't do it when they're talking about business/clients though.



simfish
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 6 Jun 2006
Age: 117
Gender: Male
Posts: 62
Location: Redmond,WA

26 Dec 2009, 11:16 am

Quote:
I HAVE to do it - otherwise, people would never tell me anything, or they'd talk about me behind my back. I have to eavesdrop a lot on my mother and her phone conversations. I don't give a crap if it's illegal - no one is keeping anything from me.


agreed. though i do it all on the internet.



zombiecide
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 16 Sep 2009
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Posts: 200
Location: Europe

26 Dec 2009, 11:43 am

All the time. That is, I don't really eavesdrop - I just am there and don't look at the people because it's easier for me to concentrate on what's being said that way. If they believe I'm not paying attention it's their problem, isn't it? (Yes I understand that it might seem creepy to them that I actually pay attention to what they say when I don't seem to care, rather than seeming to care and thinking about the grocery shopping that needs to be done.)

... I give my best to zone out when the conversation is about private matters, though. Or boring.



Last edited by zombiecide on 26 Dec 2009, 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

paolo
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Age: 92
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,175
Location: Italy

26 Dec 2009, 11:51 am

I do it all the time deliberately and feel no qualms for that. It's like being an alien or observing ants-



Vance
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 5 Feb 2009
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 60

26 Dec 2009, 11:59 am

I don't go out of my way to hear what others are saying, but if I can hear them clearly from wherever I happen to be then I'll pay attention while pretending not to. I just see it as absorbing information that might help me understand people better, much like what was described in the people-watching topic.



dossa
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Aug 2009
Age: 49
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,590
Location: The right side of my couch...

26 Dec 2009, 12:18 pm

zombiecide wrote:
All the time. That is, I don't really eavesdrop - I just am there and don't look at the people because it's easier for me to concentrate on what's being said that way. If they believe I'm not paying attention it's their problem, isn't it?


^ That. It sometimes amazes me what people will say while I am clearly sitting right there.


_________________
"...don't ask me why it's just the nature of my groove..."


Fiz
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 29 Jan 2006
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,821
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom

26 Dec 2009, 12:29 pm

I have accidentally overheard other people's conversations for whatever reason, but I would not eavesdrop intentionally as I think it is rude. Plus, there is also the chance that there are things being said that I don't want to hear, so not eavesdropping means I don't get to hear them.


_________________
The only person in the world that can truly make you happy is yourself.


richardbenson
Xfractor Card #351
Xfractor Card #351

User avatar

Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,553
Location: Leave only a footprint behind

26 Dec 2009, 12:43 pm

i used to do it as a kid, so i could get one up on the game but now i dont do it anymore


_________________
Winds of clarity. a universal understanding come and go, I've seen though the Darkness to understand the bounty of Light


waltur
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 May 2009
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 924
Location: california

26 Dec 2009, 1:11 pm

I do it all the time. I can't help but listen to conversations in a crowded room/resteraunt. Sometimes I'll get distracted by someone else's conversation and fall out of one I'm in. I don't see accidental or incidental evesdropping as a bad thing. If you go out of your way to evesdrop I can see why people would be offended. Otherwise, it's not my fault you broadcast within my recieving range.



Apera
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 871
Location: In Your Eyes

26 Dec 2009, 1:34 pm

It happens to me all the time, whether I try or not, so I try to make good use of it.


_________________
When I allow it to be
There's no control over me
I have my fears
But they do not have me


alana
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Dec 2009
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,015

26 Dec 2009, 1:51 pm

I think I compensate for my ability to 'get' what is going on by being a little more vigilant about the things people around me do and say. I watch more closely than most people, although they can't detect what I am doing.