Never was a spotter as a kid. I lived too far from the airport to even have heard of such a thing. Otherwise I probably would have become one. But not a number collector though.
There are some freakish individuals who are spotters which I suppose is where the bad name comes from. It has been suggested that an obsession with lists of numbers etc is a form of autism. Which makes sense. But most spotters are simply aircraft enthusiasts. Some become pilots or go into other aviation trades.
One thing I don't quite understand is why many enthusiasts don't bother to get a job which places them at the airport or around aircraft. I have a friend like that. He has a dull low paid job where the only aircraft he sees are at lunchtime inbound to the airport. Photos are his thing and many are on the net. He is always updating his camera and lenses.
I knew one obsessive spotter years ago who quit his job in ops because they moved offices and longer overlooked the runway. I didn't mind as I replaced him
Ironically his new company went bust soon after.
Many pilots are not really aircraft enthusiasts, many is the time, I've been with pilots who have no idea of the identity of even quite well known types. They think I'm a spotter when I can identify them, even more some when I take a picture. For many pilots it's just a job, a job they like admittedly but a job all the same. Whatever their reasons for getting into flying in the first place. It becomes routine.
Like everything else in life they're are variations on a theme. A bit like sexual proclivities
Everyone has their fetish. Me? I'm an 'aerosexual'.
~ I just like to 'jump into the cockpit five times a day and take her to heaven and back'.
