41–48 of 48 posts
I'm a teenager and I'm trying to figure out what to do for a living. Programming seems good, but I've read two independent sources that say it's lonely. Does it have to be this way, or is it a question of what kind of person you are? Is working in industry X always lonely while industry Y is much more social? Etc.
You can reply to this comment, or aim johnmaxwelliv / email john.maxwelliv@gmail. I would love to make some internet friends =)
I think you're too hard on people. Not every conversation has to be some deep and meaningful meeting of minds. There's lots to be said for a night of crude jokes and chasing women. I'd argue that it's a lot more human experience than deep conversation. It really sounds like you need to relax. Meeting people on the internet is no substitute for honest-to-goodness human interaction. Also, it's a good idea to have lots…
I am looking forward to getting out in the real world and engaging in human interaction once I graduate. But I think the Internet is a useful way to meet others as well, and possibly make friendships.
I also agree that having friends of multiple backgrounds, personalities, and interests provides great value. But to me it seems like doing this is much more difficult. People seem less willing to let people into their circles or lives if you have different interests or perspectives. Listening seems to be a highly undervalued characteristic these days. These are just my observations, though.
Thanks for the comment.
This is sort of off topic, but... I'm a teenager and I'm trying to figure out what to do for a living. Programming seems good, but I've read two independent sources that say it's lonely. Does it have to be this way, or is it a question of what kind of person you are? Is working in industry X always lonely while industry Y is much more social? Etc. You can reply to this comment, or aim johnmaxwelliv / email john.maxwe…
I don't doubt that there are lonely programmers. I think that you'd probably find lonely people for any X that people choose as a major pursuit in their life, though. I think that many (certainly most of the folks I know) programmers are programmers because of the fascination/cool factor/feeling of relative omnipotence/etc that comes along with creating and controlling processes that do cool things (whether for you or for millions of your friends). Within that, there's still a lot of diversity.
Also, you don't need to have a homogenous social circle if you don't want to.
There is a strangely sad yet intensely kind message inside this post. . . so unlike anything I've ever seen in a forum like this. Not sure why it compelled me to write this comment, but it did. I'm very happy to see the community rise around you here. HN has got to be one of the best communities out there. Be sure to reach out to your fellow human beings in person, if you can. Massive colleges/universities can seem c…
I would love it if there were a college specific channel for users. It would be easy to know who else is part of the community at one's college--and maybe meet with them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ironically, I go to a small Liberal Arts college. I think my experiences can happen anywhere. It's tough being a kid these days, making friends, and more importantly, keeping friends. I appreciate your comments, as well as everyone else's, very much! Thank you.
Yeah, especially if you don't drink alcohol. I've heard that around 24/25 is when people get over the novelty of it and start not caring about it as much. Maybe you can move to a country where nobody drinks. I can't think of one that isn't islamic although :( It's sad that people need alcohol to be 'drunk' (stupid, goofy and social), it's such a crutch. What I do is talk to random people on the street/mall/coffee sho…
feel free to give me a shout. I may or may not be responsive over the next week. I've been in the middle of moving and it's finals week. After wednesday I'll hopefully be in the free and clear. Then it's pound out my startup time.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's #startups?
It's an IRC channel. You can connect using this: http://www.mibbit.com/ #startups is the channel, irc.freenode.net is the network (it is on the list, just a ways down).