[ajavascriptdude]

this does seem like burnout but there is something else at play here.

something which i have felt quite a lot is that in the 90s a lot of programming was creative and fun. it was to challenge authority.

it created things like winamp.. it really whips the llama's ass. when is the last time you heard of a recent startup with a title like that?

nowadays everyone around me is working on startups or talking to investors where they are simply falling in line.

the good old hacker spirit and the sheer disdain for authority and a great sense of wonder has gone. i see young kids, interns studying like crazy to get into faang, which drives me crazy.

in the 90s we didn't have that... there was only cool software like winamp... that too for free.. tell me a software as cool as that since ;)

[lazyjones]

In the 90's, programming was not as cumbersome (today it's building on top a bunch of volatile APIs that are obsolete every few years) and more rewarding (fewer people, projects, so more fame for everyone).

There's also much more public knowledge about much easier ways to make money these days. Why slave away in a dilbertesque environment when you can just stream your gaming sessions on Twitch or so... So of course those who find a normal tech job hard and exhausting will be discouraged at some point.

[Clubber]

This might be it. In the 90s, tech was certainly non-conformist; you had a skill that not many people knew about; you could do magic! Now it's the opposite. If you behave and pretend to like the right people, there's a very slight chance you can retire early. Most likely, you'll just spend your years being a phony. Antithetical to the spirit of the 70s, 80s and 90s tech scene.

[redisman]

The same thing that has happened to every cool thing, we sold out. We are now an industry. I'm sure my 15-year old self would be bummed to hear that but hey, that guy didn't have bills to pay or kids to feed.

[friendlybus]

The world is focusing on tradition and pinning people down to basic identities. It's terribly boring and true conceptual freshness is dying.