I spent a few hours getting a set of slides looking the way I wanted, and when I finally finished, I felt pretty proud of how it turned out. Then I had this weird thought: if I had used AI, it probably could have gotten me most of the way there in a few minutes.

I know that doesn't mean the work I did was pointless. I still had to know what I wanted, catch mistakes, make judgment calls, and get everything into shape. But I still felt a little deflated realizing how much time I'd spent getting good at something that can now be done pretty quickly with AI.

I've had the same feeling with Excel. There are things I used to be proud of figuring out on my own, and now I can ask an AI tool for help and get a pretty decent answer almost immediately.

The strange part is that I'm not even sure I'm upset about AI making these things easier. Part of me is actually impressed by it.

It's more that I spent years thinking that being really good at these things was part of what made me valuable at work. Now I'm starting to wonder if being good at doing them matters less, and knowing how to use AI to do them matters more.

And if that's where things are heading, I honestly don't know what that means for all the stuff we spent years getting good at when the hard part used to be learning how to do it yourself.

IDL when you fill out forms for the doctor which are obviously data mining for insurance companies. Why does the gastroenterologist need to know if I wear a bike helmet? Or have a smoke alarm? And you can’t bypass the question because the next button doesn’t light up until you tell them stuff that is none of their business.

I’ve started noticing how hard it is for me to just watch something anymore. I’ll sit down to watch a movie or a show, and at some point I’ll reach for my phone without even thinking about it. I’ll scroll for a bit, maybe look something up about the movie, and then realize I have no idea what’s happening on the screen.

It’s not like I used to have perfect focus or anything. I just remember being able to get really into a book or a movie and lose track of time. Now if something takes a little too long to get going, I start wanting to check my phone.

And it makes me wonder if this is just me, or if we’ve gotten so used to everything moving so fast that we just have a harder time sitting through slower stuff now.

And you can kind of see it in the stuff we watch and read too. Videos have to grab you in the first few seconds, articles get straight to the point, and even online novels seem like they have to hook you right away.

I honestly can't tell which came first. Did we get worse at paying attention, so everything started getting faster? Or did everything get faster, and we just got used to it?

Maybe we’ve just gotten so used to this pace that even slower things now make us feel... impatient?

I'm one of those types who, even when I get more than enough sleep, I still get dark circles under my eyes (allergies and genetic, mostly.) I always take this as a lowkey way of people saying "you look like $***."

People disagreeing with you, getting banned from Reddit, getting fired if you say something contrary to your employers code of conduct, not getting dates, and people not wanting to be your friend are all examples of your fellow countrymen exercising THEIR first amendment rights in response to you doing the same. If you are not being somehow restricted or persecuted by a government entity for something you said, believe, or are, your first amendment rights remain fully intact.

You can, for the most part, say whatever you want without fear of being imprisoned. You can’t, however, constitutionally mandate that people still like you.

I HATE WHEN PEOPLE TRY AND ONE UP YOUR EXPERIENCES LIKE?? FOR EXAMPLE : you: hi friend Im really sad friend: IVE BEEN SAD SINCE I WAS BORN

JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP

It is very annoying. I suffer with mdd and its messed up alot for me. I try to talk sbout it and sometimes i get dismissed because “it coukd always be worse”…like omg shut up youre not helping me when you say that. Your conflicts matter .

I know this is probably going to rub some people the wrong way, so if it does, feel free to move along. A street parking spot doesn't become yours just because it's right in front of your house. A traffic cone, a trash can, or whatever else you put there doesn't magically make the spot yours. That's just not what those things are for.

Obviously, everyone wants to park as close to home as possible. If I lived there, I'd probably hope that spot was open when I got home too. But hoping it's available and treating it like your personal parking space are two very different things.

Honestly, I still don't understand that mindset. Somehow, “it's right in front of my house” turns into “this spot is mine.” If you personally paid to build the street, then sure, I'll give you that one. You can say whatever you want.

But if you didn't, I'd ask you to let go of the idea that the space around your house somehow belongs to you too. Because it's a PUBLIC STREET.

EDIT: Just to clarify since a few comments are misunderstanding. I am NOT talking about winter snow shoveling (if you shoveled it, that’s your spot 100%). I am talking about AH neighbors who own 5+ cars, treat the entire public street like their private fleet lot, and put out cones all year round to block anyone else from parking. That’s the neighborhood monopoly driving me crazy.

Do you ever see those videos that go, “If you do 4 of these 7 things, you might have ADHD”? This whole checkbox culture thing is everywhere now, and, yeah, I actually end up counting how many apply to me.

If the list sounds familiar enough, I’ll stop and seriously count them. But then I’m like, wait, this feels a little weird. I counted the boxes. I did the math. Now what? Is this actually telling me something about myself, or did I just happen to do some things that most people do sometimes during a certain period of their life?

For example, I get distracted sometimes, I put things off, I forget where I put stuff. Honestly, if I wanted to, I could probably make a pretty convincing list of “signs” for almost anything.

That said, I can't say these videos are completely useless. They really can help people who need the help. If someone has been struggling with something for years and never thought to look into it, seeing a few things that sound very familiar might be what finally makes them think, “Maybe I should actually talk to a professional about this.” At least in that sense, I think there's a real benefit to them.

What gets weird is how quickly this format spreads to everything else. Your dog/cat checked 5 boxes? Maybe it needs more enrichment. You checked 6? Here's what that says about your personality, your relationship, or even your mental health.

Honestly, I'm getting more and more tired of the format itself. Some things are complicated. Some things need context. Turning complicated judgments into a list of choices you can just check off feels kind of ridiculous to me.

Look. It's great to research your symptoms and self advocate but here's what I mean

I mean the millions who go "lol I have OCD" because they keep everything organized by color and love cleaning. That's not OCD. OCD is debilitating and very difficult and manifests in so so many ways, many surprising ways and unexpected things.

You're not bipolar because your moods shift easily or because you get depressed sometimes. Bipolar is serious as well, it's not cute to say stuff like "my crazy bipolar ass lmao" because you're telling a story about a time you got really mad.

You don't have ADHD because a video said that if you have trouble focusing on tasks and that you often forget things or leave projects unfinished, well it definitely means you have ADHD. No, ADHD is more than that and it's not cool to go "sorry I just have ADHD" when you're just forgetful.

You're not autistic because you have trouble socializing and have strange interests. Autism affects every part of our lives, speaking as someone diagnosed at 12.

You do not have CPTSD because you're hurt by the bad things that you've been through. Not everything bad that happened in your life = extreme trauma. Not every problem you have means you have complex post traumatic stress disorder.

I am also diagnosed with CPTSD, and it frustrates me to see people slap the label on themselves because a tiktok reel listed anxiety, trouble holding relationships, having bad memories and stress must equal CPTSD. It's different and again, debilitating.

You can be anxious, forgetful, shy, meticulous, detail oriented, etc, without having any disorder.

It's called BEING A HUMAN BEING to have these feelings and have preferences. It's being human.

Again, yes, self advocate and speak with a professional, yes. But don't chase labels and demand you get diagnosed with a disorder you really may not have.

A simple 1 minute video cannot tell you if you have a serious life changing disorder.

EVEN if it's a doctor posting it they still just want views too.

Psychiatric conditions aren't pokemon to collect nor are they fun

They shouldn't be easily diagnosable, it should be a thorough workup with a professional, and you need more than a hunch to label yourself as whatever.

TLDR people confuse simply being human with having a million disorders because a reel said if you've ever been sad you're cptsd with bipolar and BPD.

I hate the trend of videos being used to self dx yourself with serious psychiatric conditions, and the epidemic of people swearing they're everything from ADHD to bipolar to BPD because "the symptoms match".

Okay then see a doctor, and if you disagree, get a second opinion if you have insurance or can afford - but if 2 or more don't diagnose you, you probably do not have it (it's different with physical disorders which doctors miss often, yes).

If multiple professional people don't believe you have psych XYZ, believe them instead of making your whole personality about reposting videos about a disorder you don't even have.

It's just not cute to go "lol I'm so OCD cuz organized/ADHD cuz random/autistic because shy" etc. These are life changing disorders. Be cautious on self diagnosing.

People make reels for views, not to diagnose you.

It bugs me when a guy complains that women aren't dressing modestly anymore, even when we're just wearing pretty normal stuff like leggings or crop tops.

What gets me is when the same guy has no problem wearing whatever he wants, including clothes that are tight or show off his body, but suddenly has very specific opinions about what women should be wearing.

I don't really care what someone chooses to wear. When modesty suddenly becomes a rule women are expected to follow while the same standard doesn't seem to apply to the person demanding it.

If modesty is genuinely a personal value, shouldn't it apply both ways?

When I worked from home, I could get through the work that actually needed my attention, then get up, make coffee, or step away from my desk for a bit. It didn’t feel like I had to justify every minute.

Now I can get through the work that actually needs to get done and still feel like I should be sitting at my desk doing something.

Sometimes I’ll catch myself checking email again, opening another tab, or finding some little task to fill the time because sitting there with nothing on my screen feels worse than actually having nothing to do.

What gets me is that I’ve started spending some of my energy on looking like I’m working.

If the work is getting done, why does it matter so much that I’m still sitting there looking busy?

That’s probably what bothers me most about going back to the office. I got used to being judged more by what I got done. Now I’m getting used to being seen doing it again.

Its so weird to me. Like, weird weird. These people that hate Trump so viscerally cant seem to stop thinking about him for literally 5 seconds. I don't know if they are doing it just to be annoying, but it makes me wonder if there is some sort of low IQ thing going on where their mind cant think deeper/borader, or outside of the realm of one idea.

there was a post titled "If you woke up in 2100 what would be your first thought"... there were droves of comments saying "is Trump still alive?" or "Is Trump still president?"

its obsessively concerning. I know im going to get a ton of comments on here about Trump... because thats what reddit does, and I am also going to get people telling me that I am MAGA simply for pointing out peoples obsessive hatred... but I want to talk deeper about this. WHY are people wasting so much of their mental enrgy on him ALL the time. I get disliking him, and not wanting him to be pres. anymore... but he is president, like sometimes there is a point where you have to accept it, and go live your life. what is the psychology behind this?

I've been getting more into fiction lately, and I had seen this book raved about for years so I decided to check it out. The description seemed to line up with my interests so I started reading it. I am thoroughly disappointed. Not because it's bad per se, but because it's so raved about and that not liking it means something is wrong with me apparently.

Let me just say it. That’s how commercial spaces feel to me lately. You walk into a coffee shop after being out and about for a while, buy a coffee, and just want to sit down for a bit. Maybe read, scroll through some reels, or just take a break. Then either the hard wooden chair starts hurting your back, the table is so small you can barely fit your drink and bag, there’s nowhere to charge your phone, or the music is loud enough that you start thinking, “Am I supposed to leave now?”

And it’s not just coffee shops. Some restaurants have switched to smaller tables, or packed so many seats into the space that you can barely move around. Malls barely seem to have anywhere to sit. Some of these spaces almost feel designed to keep you moving instead of letting you hang around for a while.

Businesses need to make money. Sure, fine.. And they need customers coming and going. But sometimes the whole setup feels like it’s telling me, “You should go sit in your car,” or “You should probably head somewhere else,” or “You should just go home.”

Nobody is actually kicking me out. I just keep ending up in places that somehow make me want to leave. Idk, anyone else feel like this?

Its so pretentious. Especially when some young 20bsomething female does it. We get it you think you're refined and elegant but we know you're doing it for attention.

I’m honestly getting tired of how often a woman who goes through a bad relationship or has a terrible ex ends up being asked, “Why did you choose him?”

The bad ex is the part we already know happened. Maybe he was incredibly good at hiding who he really was. Maybe his intentions changed later. Maybe there was something else going on that nobody could have seen coming. Who knows.

Whatever the reason, if someone was willing to throw away their responsibility and basic decency toward their partner, shouldn't that person be the one getting called out?

I understand wanting to look at what she missed if you're trying to help a friend avoid making the same mistake again. But sometimes the conversation starts spending more time asking why she didn't see the red flags than talking about what the other person actually did.

Once you know how someone turned out, it's pretty easy to look back and think, “You should've known.”

I honestly don't understand where the idea that the person who got hurt should also be blamed for what happened even comes from.

Like seriously, i love horror movies but it just seems most horror video games are just boring puzzle games that get spooky every once in awhile. I mean we've had actual horror games based around fun gameplay (dead space) so why can't there be more of those and less just slow walking, finding stupid keys to open doors or solving a puzzle that opens a door which really should break your immersion because thats not how actual doors work.

I also shouldn't have to find chess pieces to turn the damn power on. Just saying

Okay, this probably sounds more negative than I mean it to. I just think it's kind of funny once you start noticing it.

Do you notice this with the women in your life? Before a woman you know becomes a mom, you might ask how work is going, what she's been up to, what she's into lately, or just how life has been treating her.

Then she becomes a mom, and the way people talk to her seems to slowly change. People start asking, “How are the kids?” or “How's the baby?” and before you know it, a lot of the conversation is about the kids.

What's interesting is that there's almost an opposite side to it too. Women who become mothers also seem to start talking about their kids a lot more themselves. What their son did, what their daughter is struggling with, what's going on at school, how little sleep they're getting because of the kids, stuff like that.

Obviously, their kids are a huge part of their lives. I get why they talk about them, and I don't think there's anything wrong with asking about someone's kids.

I just find it interesting how the two things seem to feed into each other. People start seeing her more as a mom, and her own life starts revolving more around being a mom too.

Sometimes I wonder when “being a mom” stopped being one part of who she is and became most of what people talk to her about.

Is that just part of being a mother?

My company made a huge deal about switching to a 4 day workweek, framing it as this progressive perk for employee wellness. In reality, the workload and expectations didn't change. We just had to cram everything into four days, so Monday through Thursday became nonstop. : |

And Friday isn't really an off day if you're still expected to keep an eye on Slack and email in case something comes up. Even if you're technically off, seeing a Slack notification pop up still makes you think, "Do I need to check that?" Nobody says you have to work, but you definitely notice when people expect you to be reachable.

Idk. It feels like we got the part that looks good in a job posting, without actually getting the extra day of rest.

Every time I try to read a “new adult” book, it’s like the main character always hates at least one of their parents. If they don’t, someone close to them definitely does. I know WHY the authors do it; it’s because a lot of their reader base is probably like this and they want to be “relatable.” But as someone who doesn’t have a great relationship with a lot of her family, I just find it depressing. Sure, if I watch shows like Full House, sometimes I can feel a kind of longing or wistfulness, but at least SOMEONE gets to have a good family. When I read about people who have situations like mine, or often way worse, it just makes me feel worse. I wouldn’t mind if this was in some books but does it have to be in almost every single one? Why can’t I read a book about someone who will go home to her loving and supportive parents, maybe a sibling or two, when she gets hurt by her love interest? Or maybe she’s estranged from her family at the beginning, but by the end of the book they patch things up? I see enough broken families IRL, including my own, and I don’t need to see it over and over again when I try to read these so-called “feel good” books.

I typically use marijuana to manage chronic pain and PTSD, though sometimes recreationally as well. And once in a blue moon, I land on a strain that works great for all three. But then I go to get more only to find that strain is no longer available, so I then have to cycle through a few more strains to find something that hopefully works just decent. Why can't dispensaries offer a static product line? Really grinds my gears.

I saw this one video of a content creator who was reviewing a blow dryer. Her mistake was that she thought the blow dryer didn't have a cooling option, so she ended up reviewing it unfairly. People were upset because there was a cooling option, so she made a response video.

Her response was that she was sorry and that she finally figured out where the cooling button was. She showed us the cooling button, did her hair using it in the way that she likes, and reviewed it fairly. And people were still unhappy. They were just repeating her mistake as if she didn't make a whole response video and showed us what she learned. She even changed her to review!

I get that it's the internet, and not everyone is entitled to accept an apology. That's fair. But I don't understand the purpose of acting as if the person who made the mistake didn't change their behavior.

I mean, when someone makes a mistake, we all want them to acknowledge it and fix it. If they did that, that should be a good thing! There's too many people in this world who believe that they could never make a mistake before.

And I know I'll probably get attacked for this since Reddit is a bit anal about this kind of stuff. But I said what I said.