Dev Culture Is Dying: The Curious Developer Is Gone Author: Dayvi Schuster Date: Thursday, September 18, 2025 Reading time: 12 minutes --- Overview This article reflects on the changing culture in software development, lamenting the loss of curiosity-driven innovation and tinkering that fueled many groundbreaking tools. The author contrasts the old culture of creativity for its own sake with today's focus on metrics, revenue, and widespread adoption, urging developers to reclaim the joy of building for passion and learning. --- When Curiosity Led the Way Earlier generations of developers created innovative tools like VLC, Linux, Git, Apache HTTP Server, and Docker driven by curiosity and problem solving, not commercial gain. The author recalls late nights in the 2000s experimenting with new technologies purely for fun and learning, embodying the "tinkerer’s mindset." This mindset involves learning without a specific goal or expectation of reward, which fosters creative exploration and personal growth. The author notes this mindset is fading, replaced by pressure to focus on career-oriented projects and measurable success. --- The Era of Metrics and Shiny Things The developer culture shifted over the past decade toward optimizing for metrics such as Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), Daily Active Users (DAU), SEO, etc. Developers often spend free time building products they don't care about, adopting trendy tools just to appear relevant. There is an overemphasis on frameworks and languages (e.g., Next.js, React, Rust) as identity markers rather than the value of the problems solved. This focus on external success metrics causes many projects to lack genuine passion or meaning. --- Chasing Every New Framework or Idea Developers frequently abandon projects mid-way to chase the latest frameworks or technologies. They prioritize the newest versions or "fastest" languages with the hope of maximizing growth, often leading to frustration when their projects don’t succeed. Identity shifts from being a software developer to being a specialist in a trendy stack. This results in products optimized for metrics but lacking soul or authentic value. --- What We Lost Along the Way Constantly upgrading technology for the sake of perceived success harms both individual developers and the overall culture. The "curious developer" archetype—the passionate creator making things just because they can—is disappearing. Although innovations like HTMX, Bun, Astro, Zig still appear, they are exceptions. The majority of new software is often built by corporations or solopreneurs focused on revenue, not curiosity. --- The World Moves On, But Some of Us Remember While the author acknowledges change is natural, he worries about the decline of curiosity as a cultural driving force. Legacy software created by passionate developers remains in use, but few recent projects share that origin. The risk is a future dominated by bloated, monetized products lacking privacy, innovation, or creator ownership. --- The Death of Ownership Is Not Just For the Consumer Consumers increasingly “rent” software via licenses or subscriptions instead of owning it. The author questions whether creators still "own" their products or merely monetize them for growth targets. Examples: Linux and VLC reflect strong creator ownership. Docker, Spotify, Facebook may represent creators becoming renters or slaves to metrics. This shift challenges the idea of software as a creative craft. --- Carving Space for Curiosity and Innovation The author urges developers to preserve time for curiosity-driven tinkering, building projects for personal fulfillment. Key suggestions: Build what you can’t ship: Create projects without worrying about marketability or wide adoption. Value the process over the outcome. Share the spark: Share