A human as hyperfocus or special interest?

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I've been pondering this. I tend to hyperfocus on new people if they interest me. I want to learn about them and interact with them. It often comes across as too much, but I do try to modulate it to normal human levels of interest. I actively don't do the stalker, follow them everywhere, creepy type stuff. I've seen things like this called obsessing or clingy or over-the-top, but that's not what it feels like to me at all. It's all because they fascinate me and things that fascinate me catch my attention and if they catch my attention enough I hyperfocus on them. Since I think in images and sensations what this normally is to me is like a super friendly dog loving all over a new person.

Do other autistics do this? Is this just me? I've toned it down a lot since I was younger, but it's a thing I really do enjoy.

Nah I seem to do the opposite. Other people don't interest me all that much.

Yes, others do. It can lead to very serious problems. If a person (perhaps a "crush" in neurotypical terms) becomes an Aspie's special interest, it can lead to behaviors that the legal system will label "stalking." It also has a tendency to creep most people out. If the target of that interest gets the idea it is happening, usually the gaslighting process that follows will serious injure ones already shaky reputation in any social circle. This is virtually inevitable with a large portion of Aspies, and it gets a lot of them into serious legal trouble.

It is enjoyable, I agree with that. It is a poor substitute for actually getting to know another person through real social interaction, but it is a substitute and better than nothing. The problem is that we often don't realize the ultimate cost.

People don't really interest me much except for both my exes, current girlfriend, & a celeb crush. I was/am very obsessed with them & was very clingy & needy with all 3 of my girlfriends which contributed to the relationships with both my exes falling apart. Things aren't quite as bad with my current girlfriend cuz I'm on anxiety & OCD medication. It also helps that she's kind of needy & clingy too.

I think there should be a world-wide effort to do away with the description "special interest" and instead called it "specialized interest".

It's not the interest itself that is special, it's the specialized nature of the interest that is the noteworthy aspect of this concept. Slightly different syntax makes a ton of difference here

For instance I got hardcore into race-sim modding. It's a special interest, but still common to regular people. However, I was obsessed with one particular track I was modding and got into much more detail about that one particular track than most people would. I had to put it away after 3 years because it almost drove me crazy trying to perfect every single detail.

My obsessions with people are different to the OP in that I don't want to interact with them, or have anything to do with them, but I do want to find out all I can about them and emulate them to the best of my ability.
Usually these people have character traits I really admire and we share a similar philosophy on life.
They also seem to have a few serious flaws.
I like my idols slightly cracked.

Oh goodness, I would never do anything stalkery! It's mainly just wanting to spend time with them with real social interaction and learn more about them. I am also quite aware enough to not aim this at someone who clearly dislikes the attention. As I said I've learned to modulate it over the years. I'm an introvert, I very well know people can be overwhelming!

Literally everyone is cracked.

I'd go a step beyond that and say that no one is "sane".

I remember having The Kinks and Mick Avory as a special interest. I regretted being open about it at the time because of a younger member who gave me a hard time in a thread that I started. Most of the members were younger than me at the time and I felt that I was too old for WP because of my favourite band and my role model. I almost quit WP at the time because of it. I posted that either he goes or I quit.

Since I was 11 I've been obsessed with certain people. First it was just teachers at school, then it became sexual crushes on men outside of school. And I'll admit, things did get out of hand, but then I was only a teenager. I did kind of stalk one or two of the men I liked, hoping they would be perverts and lure me for sex, but they were mature, decent men who got creeped out. Then when I got to about 17 or 18 I started to realise that wanting sex with older men would land themin trouble if they took advantage, but at the time I didn't care because I was young, immature and had raging hormones.
I still got obsessions with men after that (not the same men I liked when I was younger), but I didn't stalk them. I just flirted with them and made friends with them. I was also old enough to date older men if I wanted to, so if they wanted sex then it wouldn't have been a crime, but it didn't come to that.

But when I was aged 13-14 I was rather socially isolated, and loneliness made me go a little astray and want attention from older men, people who were more mature than stupid teenagers my age who didn't understand me.

My user name reflects a strong special interest in a person I find very inspirational, a person who went through hard times in his life and overcame them.