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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 30th, 2023

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  • I used to use Duolingo - hell, even paid for premium - as it was a nice way to improve my skills in a language I was already learning.

    But as time went by the app got more and more enshittified. How can somebody use it today, I don’t know.

    My biggest gripe is that it went from “let’s help you learn" to “let’s get you competing against each other to stay in this made up league”. Once I realized I’m doing lessons only for this and not learning anything, it was game over for me. And, most of the time, I’m competing against people who are there solely for the score. And because of that, rushing through the lessons and not learning anything.

    In the end, I would imagine there are only so many only-Spanish-speaking people in the US learning English. And only so many only-English-speaking in Germany learning German. And these people usually topped my leader boards. Yeah, Helga Klauss from Köln definitely doesn’t speak German.

    And don’t get me started on streaks. I’ve had a death in my family and no, Duolingo, these days is not a good time to practice my Spanish. I’m on a 14-hour flight. No, Duolingo, I’m not pestering everybody on the plane with Klingon for your streak. I’ve been up since 6 o’clock and came home at seven in the evening. No, Duolingo, spending time with my family is more important today than you.

    I want to learn, but at my own pace. I’ve uninstalled Duolingo and never looked back.


  • Your job change, you should. 🙂

    Joke aside, depends what is the issue here:

    1. Are you unsatisfied with your job or
    2. You enjoy/value your free so much.

    As others have mentioned, find something to look forward to. If you’re miserable at your job, see what you can do to change that. Any small wins you can look forward to?

    If you’re in a position “do I really need to do this for the next 30-40 years”, that’s a more difficult thing to resolve. We’ve set up a system for ourselves where that is the only possibility of surviving in this world. To change that you’d need to move somewhere to the highlands of Scotland or a tropical island somewhere and live completely off the grid. Unfortunately, though, that life is not easy.

    Your best bet is to be born rich. Other than that, friends help. Having a support net and something to do that brings you joy makes this a tiny bit more bearable. Go read books. Go to the park. Sign up for dancing lessons or martial arts. Learn a new language. Travel. World is so much more than what we see on TV.