this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2024
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But I mean if you got the same spare time, just less money... Do you then give up having hobbies? Or have different ones? I'd imagine coding isn't that bad since you don't need lots of fancy material goods, just a computer and those got way cheaper.
I can see how someone would be dishartened and then give up contributing to the world. Maybe we see the same dynamics with other voluntary work? I'm not educated on that. It doesn't feel that bad where I live than I get from reading the news... YMMV. But your numbers are right. And I don't like that form of neoliberalism and capitalism over people's lives either.
Because more money buys you more time.
If you got 7 hours and 500 bucks, you've got 7 hours.
Why? Because you've paid people to take care of all your chores.
If you've got 7 hours and 0 bucks, you've got 0 hours.
Why? Well you're taking the bus to the discount grocery store, you're doing your laundry, cooking your meals, you're commuting 1.5 hours each way on broken trains to work and pay £20 for the privilege, you're looking for new jobs because you think you'll be fired, and then you won't be able to make rent, you're doing 1-way AI-led recorded video job interviews and pumping out cover letters and CVs for job applications, yet never heard back, you're comparing payday loans to pay for heat, you're listening out for debt collectors, you're chasing up your GP for that blood test result from 6 months ago you never got, you're trying to find a cheaper place, you're doom scrolling your bank account balance, wondering whether you can cut down on something, anything, maybe a thicker jumper to sleep in during the winter.
At the end of the day, you might have a few minutes to kiss your partner, or apologize to a friend you still haven't got back to for weeks, and not much else.
So yes, most people cannot afford hobbies. The only thing people can risk it on is something that promises lots of money and an escape from misery, and it's almost always a grift.
Now there's no such thing as a hobby coder, it confuses the average person that someone could, as an adult, just make an app for them and their friends, as just a fun thing, as art, as expression or project or whatever. I always tell my coworkers I'm studying for qualifications, but I'm really just learning active directory because it's interesting.
It is only a thing you either grind for to make money through and pay your dues to the tutorial grifter culture promising big bucks selling endless courses on YouTube by people who are suspiciously not themselves employed as software engineers, or you don't do it at all.