I'm in the same boat, but perhaps more cynical.  I'm 62 years old, and didn't even know people actually saw images in their heads until maybe a year ago.  I thought the "imagine you are on a beach .. seeing the sunset, blah, blah, blah" was metaphorical. Anyway, it is what it is, i conceptualize. I know what an apple looks like, and am crappy artist.  I have NEVER felt intensely about a character, because if it is fiction, it doesn't matter. If it is non-fiction, I also don't get involved enough to care all that much about how they felt, because it doesn't matter to me.  (Perhaps that is my Aspergers).  I don't bother to even try to visualize aspects of a book unless I feel it is likely to contribute to the plot. I do enjoy a good book or movie.  I read a book like clockwork every 2 or 3 years now.  To me, books are reserved for when I am on a plane or train somewhere and I have no alternatives.  I rather spend my time interacting with the real world than reading. In retrospect, maybe i am totally incapable of getting into a great book as much as people who don't have aphantasia are.  I never gave it much thought.  

I'm in the same boat, but perhaps more cynical.  I'm 62 years old, and didn't even know people actually saw images in their heads until maybe a year ago.  I thought the "imagine you are on a beach .. seeing the sunset, blah, blah, blah" was metaphorical. Anyway, it is what it is, i conceptualize. I know what an apple looks like, and am crappy artist.  I have NEVER felt intensely about a character, because if it is fiction, it doesn't matter. If it is non-fiction, I also don't get involved enough to care all that much about how they felt, because it doesn't matter to me.  (Perhaps that is my Aspergers).  I don't bother to even try to visualize aspects of a book unless I feel it is likely to contribute to the plot. I do enjoy a good book or movie.  I read a book like clockwork every 2 or 3 years now.  To me, books are reserved for when I am on a plane or train somewhere and I have no alternatives.  I rather spend my time interacting with the real world than reading. In retrospect, maybe i am totally incapable of getting into a great book as much as people who don't have aphantasia are.  I never gave it much thought.