Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

I was in eighth grade at the start of the pandemic (college freshman now. Insane how the pandemic was 5 years ago). For a lot of people like myself, it was when I got into programming and found my career. However, I know lots of other people who basically sat on dopamine loop apps all day.

Our habits from then continued on. While I can't prove this, I would suspect that this isnt due to any lack of vice, but because plenty of people have that feeling satisfied by short form algorithm apps.

I think the pandemic had nothing to do with that except maybe that it served as a trigger for you or others. Plenty of people got hooked on programming in normal and peaceful times, with plenty of addictive distractions around - be it chess, reading, popular sports, Pokemon, movies, etc. Not everyone is interested in, or has the patience for, programming. You see its potential and what you could do with it, they see it as a chore better left to people who like that kind of stuff.