So, how are we doing?

Looking back

My first post on DEV was in 2024 - almost two and a half years ago. There, I discussed the feeling that, by being "too old" and in the process of recovering from burnout, I was being left behind by tech. I didn't even know if I wanted to stay working with IT, and how I wanted that work to be.

It's crazy how much has changed in my life since then. Some things improved a lot; some things got worse. And that's OK, it's life. But I have been seeing something in the past few weeks that triggered an alarm inside my head: I keep seeing people describe the same feelings I had back then, and AI seems to be accelerating it.

Not anti-AI, but concerned about pace

First of all, and that's important: this isn't an "anti-AI, AI is bad" kind of post. This is a huge topic, and I want to be more specific. This is about the pace of how AI is changing how we work. With that in mind, what I want to discuss is that everything is going too fast, and every new job is demanding a type of knowledge that wasn't even discussed a few weeks ago.

The knowledge treadmill

• 2024: everyone wants to know if I used AI in some way; that's fine.
• 2025: everyone not only wants to know if I use AI, but I must also know n8n. Automations. The best models. How to do prompt engineering. How to create a RAG.
• January 2026: everyone must know how to set up and use OpenClaw.
• March 2026: OpenClaw is already outdated, and everyone is discussing Claude, and you must master Claude Code.
• May 2026: how do you not know about agentic AI already? You'll fall behind.

Behind what, exactly? What is the new thing? Where is the new hype I must chase? The definition of being competent is changing faster than a human being can reasonably rebuild their professional identity around it.

Watching the next generation

I'm at that point in my career where, most of the time, I can keep my distance from new trends, knowing just enough about each one to train a team; I can act as a consultant for companies that want to update their processes to the new reality; I can write about digital culture and, because of it, be invited to events and get paid to write, which is fine.

But I'm seeing more and more younger people displaying the same symptoms I had after working for 15 years. It's the feeling of being a fraud, the fear of being found out, or the fear that you will be replaced if you don't give 110% all the time. More and more, people half my age are opening up about how exhausted they are on LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram, etc., about how they are tired.

How are you doing?

There are ten days left until September 2026, when, in Brazil, we discuss mental health and how to deal with problems. I know that other countries do the same, which means there'll be a whole month to discuss mental health.

But before that, I would like to ask: How are you doing? How are you keeping up? Do you have a hobby that doesn't involve a screen or being online? Do you have friends you can open up to about your problems? Are you part of a local community where you can meet new people?