A senior engineer describes the 'senior engineer death spiral,' a common failure mode where engineers take on overly ambitious projects to prove themselves, then isolate themselves while working excessive hours, leading to burnout and career damage. The solution is to assume good faith from colleagues, communicate transparently about work progress, and temporarily focus on being a great teammate rather than chasing promotions.
A clinician and AI product builder examines why using AI chatbots as therapy is problematic. True therapy requires an intimate professional relationship where clients experience corrective emotional moments, not just advice or comfort. While AI's tendency to agree and provide solutions can be engineered away, the fundamental gap remains: AI cannot replicate the relational dynamic that drives therapeutic change.
Youper, a mental health AI app, is shutting down on September 30, 2026. Users can export their data until that date, after which all accounts and personal information will be permanently deleted. Subscriptions have been disabled and refunds will be processed according to platform policies.
Ask A Monk is a digital platform where strangers anonymously share questions and reflections on life's persistent concerns, offering peer support and listening without judgment or solutions.
Emergency department visits for gambling disorders in Ontario doubled after the legalization of single-event sports betting in August 2021 and the expansion of the online gambling market to private operators in April 2022, with the increase concentrated among young men. A University of Toronto study analyzing 14 years of data found visits were 154% higher than expected among males aged 10–29 and 116% higher among males aged 30–44, with over 70% involving co-occurring mental health or substance use issues.
Gen Z is adopting "ghost posting," where they upload Instagram photos, immediately archive them, then reshare days later to avoid pressure and curate their feed without constant engagement. The trend reflects broader Gen Z anxiety about appearing authentic without being perceived as "cringe" on social media.
Reddit users who grew up before cellphones overwhelmingly report life was better then, citing greater freedom, deeper friendships, reduced anxiety, more outdoor activities, and genuine human connection without constant digital distraction. They describe childhoods with fewer parental controls, spontaneous social plans, and more creative self-entertainment compared to today's always-connected world.
Psychologist Peter Gray's new book challenges Jonathan Haidt's influential theory that social media harms teen mental health, arguing instead that rigid schooling and reduced childhood autonomy are the primary culprits. Gray contends research shows no meaningful correlation between social media use and mental health decline, and that teens themselves identify school pressure, not phones, as their top source of anxiety.
NPR investigated ChatGPT's Trusted Contact feature, designed to alert designated contacts when the bot detects suicide risk in users. Despite OpenAI claiming good adoption since May, the feature is difficult for users to discover, not prominently advertised during onboarding, and only functions if users proactively enable it in settings.
Research increasingly shows that short-form video consumption is associated with cognitive harms, particularly affecting attention, impulse control, and memory, even as social media companies dispute the scientific evidence. A meta-analysis of 70 studies found stronger associations between short-form video use and negative cognitive changes than with mental health issues, with compulsive use predicting the worst outcomes.
NPR investigated ChatGPT's Trusted Contact feature, designed to alert a designated person when the bot detects suicide risk in users. The feature, launched in May, is difficult to find and not prominently offered to new users, requiring manual setup in settings rather than being suggested proactively during crisis moments.
Andy Dunn, cofounder of menswear brand Bonobos, sold the company to Walmart for $310 million in 2017, one year after experiencing a severe manic episode linked to his Bipolar I diagnosis. The crisis forced him into treatment and therapy, leading to recovery and a subsequent career focused on mental health advocacy and his social company Pie.
A software engineer and game developer reflects on their crisis of motivation amid the rise of generative AI, which devalues creative work and makes traditional craftsmanship feel obsolete. After initially despairing, they find perspective from a colleague who continues building meaningful projects without AI, recognizing that choosing the harder path—like making a custom game engine—is about personal fulfillment rather than competition.