Son never watches the end of things. Weird or normal?

[PrettyParrot]

To be clear, this is a light-hearted thread and the source of idle "You're weird, no YOU'RE weird" chitchat in our house, so please don't worry that my son is being shamed or anything like that 😄

Ever since DS1 (now 13) was tiny, he's never wanted to watch the end of anything - TV programmes, films, plays, even songs. DS2 and I otoh have a visceral need to stay to the end of the story or song, just so it's not left hanging in our heads (although tbf we're both ND). This came back to the fore last night when we were re-watching Avengers: Infinity War and DS1 just up and left a minute before Thanos does his thing. This blew my mind 😄

So, straw poll: do you think it's perfectly commonplace to just routinely skip endings? YABU for yes, YANBU for no (I'm aware we have no formal voting here so will eyeball the results)!

I think a lot of pre teens and young people have very short attention spans now with TikTok and you tube etc being their main source of entertainment, they just can’t be patient for endings etc. My son aged 12 is very similar.

I do this, but I don't think in the same way as your son. I don't normally watch season finales as I hate the cliffhangers so save them to watch when the new season comes out. I've never watched the last two episodes of game of thrones as I heard people were disappointed so I'd rather let my mind create a good ending!

You forgot to add the poll, @PrettyParrot!

As someone who feels obligated to watch all the credits, I am positively twitchy at the idea of leaving a moment before the end.

Does he bin books when he gets to the final chapter? Throw out crisps with a few still in the packet? Where does this insanity draw a line??

Infinity war is 2 hours and a half. Leaving right before the end has nothing to do with attention span.

Probably not unusual, attention spans are much shorter now, hence the popularity of short videos online

YANBU OP.

Ah, I didn't realise polls were an option for a non-AIBU post!

He has never knowingly failed to eat every last fragment in a crisp packet 😂

DD is autistic and also just ups and leaves. She likes to be in bed at 9pm otherwise she's tired the next morning and will often get up and leave a film or whatever else is happening even if it's just got to the huge action scene the whole film has been building up to, it's beyond frustrating. In her mind she can catch up on the film at any time but not her sleep.

My kids do this and it drives me around the bend. We’re all ND. Their answer when pushed is that they know what’s going to happen in the end, it’s the story of how they get there that is what gripped them. Once the MC has completed his character arc, they’ve lost interest?

However as I’ve got older I kind of get bored easily and find I’m not dissimilar. (ND symptoms tend to be more challenging in puberty and menopause.) Will watch the first episode of a series, decide it is dragging or that I’ve worked out who ‘did it’/motivations/etc so I often just skip to the final 10mins of the final episode, perhaps just watching the series catch up at the start of the final episode. Tv/movies are so written to formula now, with characters created according to a proforma, that I just can’t be bothered. The writers and directors need to do a bit more if they want me to allocate my time to watching every episode avidly.

@CautiousLurker DD says the same, why bother watching if I know what happens. Funnily enough that doesn't extend to her favourite things she's watched a billion times.

There are very few series she's watched all the way through, Only Murders in the Building was a good one that kept her guessing

LOL I know right? My DD has watched Brooklyn 99 so many times that I can also recite the flipping script, and DS did the same with The Flash. I don’t get it!!

I think it’s to do with not wanting a good thing to end? My dd hasn’t watched the last episode of a few programmes she has really enjoyed.

The things she likes always surprises me too Truman Show is her favourite film and she loves Austin Powers too.

This seems incredibly sensible and not frustrating at all!

@MWNA it's beyond frustrating for me as it's just the two of us I feel compelled to wait to watch the end with her and I do not share her self control (I wish I did).

I get you ☺️

I'm like this when I can see where the end is
going - film or book. It just won't keep my attention. I'm autistic if that makes a difference.