The deskilling of web dev is damaging our health

6 hours ago

Burnout in web development is common due to high demands and anxiety, similar to trade publishing.
Web developers are expected to master multiple complex specialties like CSS, HTML, JavaScript, HTTP, and frameworks, doubling their workload.
Framework skills (e.g., React, Svelte) become obsolete quickly, unlike foundational web platform knowledge which remains more stable.
Deskilling occurs as tools like Tailwind replace the need for CSS experts, but often fail to hide underlying complexities, adding to developer stress.
Companies are shifting towards using AI tools to reduce reliance on skilled developers, leading to lower pay, job insecurity, and lower-quality software.
Market dominance by tech oligopolies (e.g., Microsoft, Google) discourages competition and innovation, making software quality irrelevant to success.
Solutions include collective bargaining and union action for labor issues, and anti-trust regulation to break up monopolies, but current efforts are insufficient.

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