I don't think so, at least for me manual development was the same, giving a lot of dopamine boosts. The only difference is that I get the same amount of dopamine when I generate a full page instead of a single component. Nonetheless it can be a real issue because it takes away from the enjoyment of working on details in the codebase.
I've heard similar things from many people know, but I don't feel like this at all. I don't find coding with Claude any more or less addictive than without. I do find coding with claude slightly more fun, but mostly because brainstorming with someone/something feels less lonely than writing code alone. I wonder where the discrepancy comes from.
Seeing the final result of a feature doesn't really give me any dopamine. Maybe because I'm mostly working on projects I know how to do. When I give it a prompt I already know what the result should look like, so I'm not really surprised by anything it produces.
I work at a fully remote company, and coding with Claude hits the "pair programming" itch I have. Obviously it's not the same thing (and I do chitchat with coworkers on teams to get real human interaction during the day), but one of my favorite parts of my job is having technical conversations with others, debating the pros and cons of a certain approach. Pre-AI, they were occasional conversations I had with younger devs, but now I have them every day.
I found Claude extremely addicting at first (the dopamine hits were real for me!) but over time I guess I've gotten desensitized.
the dopamine hits are real. being an ex addict i guess for me its a turn off because i know this is basically the same thing (for me). i dont mind using AI, but i ended up cancelling my subscriptions because it touch a bad memory for me. I'd advise people caution. Like anything that hits dopamine up frequently, your mind adapts quick to expect and 'need' such hits.
its very personal if its good or bad i suppose. (not a psychologist so honestly dont know if its really similar. just expressing my personal feeling about it)
I got somewhat addicted to the planning phase to the point I started getting task paralysis because I was hell bent on creating the perfect plan.
Everything can be optimized, performance can be improved, you can always think of more edge cases and user stories to cover everything, but after a point that just becomes procrastination in the form of chasing perfection. It's also hell if you've got even the slightest bit of ADHD, rapidly leading to task paralysis with the sheer scale of the plan.
Now I sit with a notebook sketch out everything I am thinking about and then condense it to a planning prompt and then once the plan aligns with my representation of the task, I start implementing.
I also love it. Finally, I am no longer constrained by syntax errors or forgotten API details. I can focus on the feature. It's like taking programming to a higher level - programming in English (instead of Java).
I feel this sneaking up on me. I've only recently allowed Claude to actually edit some files directly, rather than just show me suggested edits. It could certainly be addictive to just hit enter while code magically appears, thinking "oh yeah, I totally would have done it like that".
Yes, sometimes I have found it hard to sleep if I'm close to building something I want to build.
I think there is kind of a meme going around about multitaskers doing very well with vibe coding, and I can see it. Although, as someone who has the opposite problem, it can be tiring if I try to do more than two things at once.
whenever i give them a chance, i usually give them a codebase I've been working on for a while (so most bugs have been fixed), after I found a new bug, and ask them to "find all bugs".
They always end up praising me for the high quality code and howdthey found exactly ZERO manifest bugs in the code, and this must be the work of a skilled senior developer owing to the code's polish.
Then I point out the bug I had just discovered.... "you're exactly right!"
No worries. You are in the right place. This is how others feel as well and how software engineering will feel for new generations so yeah the bicycle comparison fits well.
This is how others feel as well and how software engineering will feel for new generations
How can you make such universal statements? This is not true at all. There are plenty of people who find vibe coding mentally exhausting (not everyone wants to be a manager) and who think LLMs suck that joy that was left in programming.
Not really. I use claude at work and I wouldn’t use at home because a) the same plan would cost $200/month… and I don’t enjoy paying that amount of money for a toy, b) it’s not open source, so I cannot trust antrohpic to give them access to my stuff
The problem is Claude often kinda grinds to a halt. So I find myself getting context switching a LOT as I’m waiting for it to do something. I’m alright at context switching, but it’s really fucking tiring doing it so constantly.
I don't think so, at least for me manual development was the same, giving a lot of dopamine boosts. The only difference is that I get the same amount of dopamine when I generate a full page instead of a single component. Nonetheless it can be a real issue because it takes away from the enjoyment of working on details in the codebase.
I've heard similar things from many people know, but I don't feel like this at all. I don't find coding with Claude any more or less addictive than without. I do find coding with claude slightly more fun, but mostly because brainstorming with someone/something feels less lonely than writing code alone. I wonder where the discrepancy comes from.
Seeing the final result of a feature doesn't really give me any dopamine. Maybe because I'm mostly working on projects I know how to do. When I give it a prompt I already know what the result should look like, so I'm not really surprised by anything it produces.
I work at a fully remote company, and coding with Claude hits the "pair programming" itch I have. Obviously it's not the same thing (and I do chitchat with coworkers on teams to get real human interaction during the day), but one of my favorite parts of my job is having technical conversations with others, debating the pros and cons of a certain approach. Pre-AI, they were occasional conversations I had with younger devs, but now I have them every day.
I found Claude extremely addicting at first (the dopamine hits were real for me!) but over time I guess I've gotten desensitized.
What’s the negative here that makes this an addiction and not just good?
the dopamine hits are real. being an ex addict i guess for me its a turn off because i know this is basically the same thing (for me). i dont mind using AI, but i ended up cancelling my subscriptions because it touch a bad memory for me. I'd advise people caution. Like anything that hits dopamine up frequently, your mind adapts quick to expect and 'need' such hits.
its very personal if its good or bad i suppose. (not a psychologist so honestly dont know if its really similar. just expressing my personal feeling about it)
> Each execution prompt after a long planning session feels like opening a lootbox when I used to play Counter Strike.
The "uncertain reward" nature of LLM usage makes it a skinner box, yes.
I got somewhat addicted to the planning phase to the point I started getting task paralysis because I was hell bent on creating the perfect plan.
Everything can be optimized, performance can be improved, you can always think of more edge cases and user stories to cover everything, but after a point that just becomes procrastination in the form of chasing perfection. It's also hell if you've got even the slightest bit of ADHD, rapidly leading to task paralysis with the sheer scale of the plan.
Now I sit with a notebook sketch out everything I am thinking about and then condense it to a planning prompt and then once the plan aligns with my representation of the task, I start implementing.
> rapidly leading to task paralysis with the sheer scale of the plan.
Yikes. I feel seen.
I also love it. Finally, I am no longer constrained by syntax errors or forgotten API details. I can focus on the feature. It's like taking programming to a higher level - programming in English (instead of Java).
I give less shits seeing how sloppy the quality bar is now
I feel this sneaking up on me. I've only recently allowed Claude to actually edit some files directly, rather than just show me suggested edits. It could certainly be addictive to just hit enter while code magically appears, thinking "oh yeah, I totally would have done it like that".
Yes, sometimes I have found it hard to sleep if I'm close to building something I want to build.
I think there is kind of a meme going around about multitaskers doing very well with vibe coding, and I can see it. Although, as someone who has the opposite problem, it can be tiring if I try to do more than two things at once.
whenever i give them a chance, i usually give them a codebase I've been working on for a while (so most bugs have been fixed), after I found a new bug, and ask them to "find all bugs".
They always end up praising me for the high quality code and howdthey found exactly ZERO manifest bugs in the code, and this must be the work of a skilled senior developer owing to the code's polish.
Then I point out the bug I had just discovered.... "you're exactly right!"
I’ve always been addicted to coding and building, this just makes it easier to get my fix…
No worries. You are in the right place. This is how others feel as well and how software engineering will feel for new generations so yeah the bicycle comparison fits well.
Unironically, the descendant of Claude Code is the metaverse/holodeck/next minecraft.
It will look nothing like those things, but it will be obvious in retrospect.
For better and worse.
Not really. I use claude at work and I wouldn’t use at home because a) the same plan would cost $200/month… and I don’t enjoy paying that amount of money for a toy, b) it’s not open source, so I cannot trust antrohpic to give them access to my stuff
The problem is Claude often kinda grinds to a halt. So I find myself getting context switching a LOT as I’m waiting for it to do something. I’m alright at context switching, but it’s really fucking tiring doing it so constantly.