What's wrong with being antisocial?

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I just watched this interesting video I found about the nature of drug addiction on Reddit, and I agreed with it up until they started talking about how being antisocial is "unnatural" and how we "need" to break out of that habit and interact more with other people. Clearly, the people who made this video did it all from an extroverted NT perspective, failing to take into account that there are people out there who DON'T like constantly interacting with other people, and who prefer the company of non-human objects and activities that don't involve direct human interaction.


Antisocial individuals like myself may not be the norm, but that doesn't mean we don't have a right to exist or to enjoy ourselves.

Thoughts?

There's nothing "wrong" with it, per se.

It's probably better though, all things considered, to be social at least some of the time.

Don't hyperbolise

There was a Ted talk I saw a while ago about the importance if introverts in society, I could find it again if anyone is interested.

I am definitely in introvert. I find computers much easier to understand then people.

This is misusing the term antisocial. Antisocial doesn't mean not liking interaction - it means acting in ways that are harmful to other people, and a lot of highly antisocial people are actually extroverts. Asocial is not liking interaction, and there's nothing wrong with being asocial.

It depends on the point of reference.

I do not like interactions because it's just a bit much. All the overloads and following things and being lost and unsure and all those things that just make it really difficult to do.

To people who see that, I am not a sociable person.

When people see me teach, and I'm in 'showtime mode', they think I would be the life of the party. But, I'm in a performance designed to teach and inform. It's one of my special interests and I'm the leader there. I can't do that in 'real life'. I can't maintain that facade for any length of time. Makes it even harder to be in a standard job where you have to interact constantly and are not in control of information flow.

In reality, I want to be social. I'm just very bad at it and over time, I have just given up.

I agree with Ettina. I should have noted this in my mind.

Asocial is a better term for this than anti-social.

My previous response still stands.

So, "asocial" is the term I was actually shooting for. Good to know. It's unfortunate that most people don't know what it means, however. Probably because the concept doesn't make any sense to the extrovert NT majority.

I don't see anything wrong with it at all.

On the other hand, I've been wondering for a very long time whether there's anything wrong with being antisocial in Ettina and kraftiekortie's sense.

Of course, if you try to harm or just annoy the wrong people, you'll regret it, but those who harmed me always seemed to have a point, which I failed to understand only because I was so stupid. I get the same feeling from Encyclopedia Dramatica or renowned Internet trolls like Jason Fortuny or Weev. If you can abuse someone and be better off than you'd be respecting them, what reason exactly do you have not to? I've always been successfully made to feel guilty for my weakness. It was my moral duty to be stronger, so I could have defended myself, so being abused is just my just deserts for failing to be strong enough.

I rarely see anyone who doesn't look strong enough to face any challenge that may be honorably forced on them, except for myself.

Often times, I just wish people would f**k off and leave me alone. Why is this such a hard thing for people to understand?

Human beings are social creatures and we need other people. If you have problems getting on with other people it may be what is causing your depression.

I am strongly antisocial, thats something that exists because very simply people couldn't accept me, didn't like didn't want to be around the way that I talked and carry myself.

I won't say that its good that people don't accept me or that being anti-social is the preferred state its just something that happened because of my autism.

People are a hassle and normal people have strong instincts that allow them to deal with this and to some degree enjoy the hassle that goes with it. People with autism don't seem to have those instincts.

Yesterday I started falling asleep at my son's tenth birthday, when people gather together there's an attraction for normal people and they don't need to rationalize it, they enjoy it in the moment.

For me every moment is a moment wasted if its not spent trying to map out the multiverse in my head, and of course I can't share that with any one, so I feel lonely.

I think that the fact is that autism is a disorder it distances us from other people so its a disorder, perhaps if there had been early intervention in my case I would feel differently.

If only people understand that being social does not equal comfort or a desirable fulfillment. Or even what dictates benelovence or human.

I got my 'fulfillments' (pro-social fulfillments like popularity), yet never found comfort out of it because it's rather suffocating when people expects things you rather not make a habit out of it, and makes a huge deal out of it.

I'm asocial because of the fulfillment, not lacking of said fulfilment of being alone, unable to fit in, and lack of acceptance from others.
I enjoy my asocial moments even more.

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Wow...Just to be certain of the definition because it can be applied very broadly in general conversation...

Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antisocial

Full Definition of antisocial

1
: averse to the society of others : unsociable

2
: hostile or harmful to organized society; especially : being or marked by behavior deviating sharply from the social norm

Now...that's a broad definition in itself. I am troubled that it goes from the benign all the way to hostlity and being harmful (violence?). That is indeed, a broad definition.....