Anyone feel like they're just opting out of tech these days?

Question

I would love to really understand if I will ever change my outlook now. Until 2019/2020 I was super into tech, gadgets, and keeping up with trends.At some point in the last 5-6 years, I have pretty much adopted an opt-out view on tech.I just don't care anymore, and I don't think it is because I got older... I got into tech in my mid/late 20s so I wasn't a born nerd like most of you guys tinkering with stuff since childhood.The rate as products/services enshittify has intensified, and most products/services I use have so many issues that require workarounds, hacks, or just dealing with terrible UX.I used to spend 10s of thousands of dollars on tech back then, like the latest stuff both software and hardware.These days, I just use whatever free smartphone I get from Verizon for 2-3 years. When I look at old photos I can't really tell the difference between photos from my iPhone 7 and my iPhone 15 or whatever (I don't even know the model).I bought a used M1 Max for $950 and I'm still using that, and I feel like this will work for me for another 3-5 years. I still use my beefy gaming/workstation with a 5950x and 128gb ram. I used to drop like $5k on a new mac..I used to have Teslas and cool cars, I sold them all and just walk. I bought better shoes instead.My last home was filled with smart home tech and other stuff, now I live in a completely analog old home which is nice (and much smaller!).The only subscriptions I have now are Prime and Youtube.I've tinkered enough with AI with 1b plus tokens spent to build loads of cool stuff, but if I'm being totally honest I feel like I now know its limitations and benefits. I don't really find it that interesting anymore because it sucks ass at image generation (what I actually want, regardless of # of iterations and time spent), reliably organizing notes, and stuff like that. It is great as a code slave but that is again boring when it doesn't work..So what's next? Or do I just opt-out completely at some point like I've already started?

rvz · Accepted Answer

The problem is that you are being a consumer, not a builder. You are over-spending on products that are designed to depreciate faster than they are worth. Other than RAM and GPUs these "tech" devices are worth less than they were a year ago.Just build and sell things yourself.

rationalist · Answer

> My last home was filled with smart home tech and other stuff, now I live in a completely analog old home which is nice (and much smaller!).
"Tech" does not last. I like things that are durable and last. Solid hardwood furniture, a light switch that only closes a circuit and doesn't contain microchips, something built out of metal instead of plastic, etc.
I'll still buy new laptops and smartphones, but not "smart" things.

apothegm · Answer

Tech for its own sake is dull and pointless. Always has been. So are trends. In anything. Buy things that solve real problems you have; save money on the rest.On the SWE side, if you don&rsquo;t want to get out of software entirely find something to work on that isn&rsquo;t just about tech. Find an aspect of the world that&rsquo;s meaningful to you &mdash; maybe that&rsquo;s biotech, maybe it&rsquo;s plumbing &mdash; and build software that supports it.

Cider9986 · Answer

There are still fun things to do with tech, and stuff that won't enshittify &mdash; you just need to know where to look.

m463 · Answer

you seem like you are isolating yourself.But as long as you replace all this with meaningful connections with people, groups, communities I think you will be much better for it.

Anyone feel like they're just opting out of tech these days?

The problem is that you are being a consumer, not a builder. You are over-spending on products that are designed to depreciate faster than they are worth. Other than RAM and GPUs these "tech" devices are worth less than they were a year ago.
Just build and sell things yourself.

There are still fun things to do with tech, and stuff that won't enshittify — you just need to know where to look.

you seem like you are isolating yourself.
But as long as you replace all this with meaningful connections with people, groups, communities I think you will be much better for it.