The last three years in tech felt like speedrunning a decade.
Mass layoffs.
Friends suddenly “open to work.”
Group chats going from shipping memes to severance package advice.
Twitter/X turning into a gladiator arena.
LinkedIn becoming a 24/7 hustle theatre.
AI replacing, augmenting, threatening—depending on who you ask.
I watched insanely talented teammates pack their laptops into cardboard boxes. I saw people who mentored me start doubting their own value. I saw junior devs panic-learning five frameworks at once because some influencer said their stack was “dead.”
And somewhere in the middle of all that noise, I realized something uncomfortable:
The internet was making me anxious about a career I actually love.
That’s when dev.to quietly became my cozy corner of the internet.
Not perfect. Not magical. Just… healthier.
The Algorithm vs. The Developer 🍃
Most technical social networks are built for velocity, not depth.
Short takes.
Hot takes.
“Unpopular opinion.”
“React is dead.”
“AI will replace you.”
“10x engineers only.”
You scroll. You compare. You feel behind.
The past two years amplified that. Layoffs made everything competitive. AI tools made everything uncertain. Every week there was a new framework, a new paradigm, a new “you must learn this now.”
It became exhausting to exist online as a developer.
And the worst part? It didn’t make me better.
It just made me more reactive.
What I Found on dev.to 🌱
dev.to feels slower.
You can actually write.
You can disagree without farming outrage.
You can admit you’re tired.
When I started posting there consistently, something changed. I wasn’t optimizing for likes or going viral. I was thinking in paragraphs again.
Long-form writing forces clarity. You can’t hide behind a hot take when you have 1,000 words to defend it.
More importantly, the comments felt human. Not always polite—but human. Developers sharing their own burnout stories. Their layoff experiences. Their doubts about AI. Their pivot to new stacks. Their quiet wins.
It reminded me that behind every GitHub profile is a nervous system.
Layoffs Changed the Tone of Everything 🍂
Before 2023, tech Twitter felt like a highlight reel.
After the layoffs, it became a survival channel.
People started:
- Hoarding knowledge.
- Gatekeeping niches.
- Speed-running certifications.
- Pretending they weren’t scared.
And I get it. Fear does that.
But here’s what I learned watching friends go through layoffs:
Your value is not your current stack.
Your identity is not your employer.
Your sanity is not worth sacrificing for relevance.
The people who handled it best weren’t the loudest online.
They were the ones with real relationships.
Not followers.
Not impressions.
Relationships.
Authentic Networking Is Boring (And That’s Good) 🌿
The best connections I’ve made weren’t through viral posts.
They were:
- Comment threads that turned into DMs.
- Honest articles about frustration.
- Shared curiosity about a tool.
- Admitting “I don’t know.”
Authentic networking is slow. It doesn’t scale well. It doesn’t look impressive on LinkedIn.
But when layoffs hit, those are the people who check in.
Not because you optimized your personal brand.
But because you were real.
Mental Health in Developer Spaces 🌾
Burnout doesn’t always look like collapse.
Sometimes it looks like:
- Learning three frameworks you don’t even like.
- Rewriting your portfolio every month.
- Checking job boards before coffee.
- Doom-scrolling tech discourse at 1 AM.
The ecosystem shifted hard in the last three years:
- AI tools exploded.
- Frontend complexity ballooned.
- Hiring froze.
- Salaries stabilized or dropped in some regions.
- Expectations increased.
You’re not weak if you felt that.
You’re human.
And you don’t need to absorb every wave of hype to survive.
Why You Should Learn (and Why You Shouldn’t) 🪴
Yes, you should keep learning.
But not out of panic.
Learn:
- Because you’re curious.
- Because something excites you.
- Because you want leverage.
- Because it solves a real problem you face.
Don’t learn:
- Because someone said your stack is obsolete.
- Because you’re afraid of being replaced tomorrow.
- Because comparison is eating you alive.
The last three years taught me this:
Adaptation is important.
Anxiety-driven adaptation is toxic.
There’s a difference.
Designing Your Own “Safe Space” Online
You don’t have to quit social media.
You just have to design your environment intentionally.
Here’s what worked for me:
1. Curate Aggressively
Unfollow accounts that:
- Trigger comparison spirals.
- Constantly predict doom.
- Turn every topic into outrage.
Follow people who:
- Share thoughtful breakdowns.
- Talk about failure openly.
- Build in public without ego.
Your feed is an API.
Control the inputs.
2. Create More Than You Consume
Consumption creates comparison.
Creation creates clarity.
Writing on dev.to forced me to:
- Form opinions.
- Reflect on mistakes.
- Slow down my thinking.
You don’t need to be an expert.
You need to be honest.
3. Separate Learning from Performance
Not everything you learn needs to become content.
Some things are:
- Just for you.
- Just for exploration.
- Just for fun.
When learning becomes performance, joy disappears.
4. Build Small Private Circles
Group chats.
Discord servers.
Tiny mastermind groups.
Three to five developers you trust > 50,000 followers.
When layoffs hit, that’s where the real support lives.
5. Log Off Without Announcing It
You don’t owe the timeline your presence.
If tech discourse feels loud:
- Close the tab.
- Go build something small.
- Read documentation.
- Go outside (yes, actually).
Silence is underrated.
dev.to Isn’t Perfect (And That’s Fine)
There’s still hype.
There’s still debate.
There’s still ego.
But the format encourages depth.
And depth encourages humanity.
That’s why it became my cozy corner.
Not because it’s superior.
But because it allowed me to slow down.
And in a chaotic ecosystem, slowing down is a competitive advantage.
Final Thought
The last three years shook the industry.
They also exposed something important:
Your career is long.
The hype cycles are short.
The internet is loud.
Your nervous system is fragile.
Find a corner of the web where you can think clearly.
Maybe it’s dev.to.
Maybe it’s a niche forum.
Maybe it’s a private Slack group.
But design it on purpose.
Because in a world optimizing for attention,
protecting your peace might be the most senior thing you can do.
What’s your cozy corner of the internet?
Let’s talk.
Top comments (1)
Thank you for sharing this article!
As an engineer working in Japan, dev.to is an interesting place where I can connect with engineers from around the world.