Doom Coding

It was 10PM on a Tuesday, and the soccer game just went into overtime. The score was zero to zero. At this point in the tournament, the collective consciousness surrounding the FIFA World Cup was beginning to form, and I was not immune to the hype. Usually I’m in bed at this time, but decided to make an exception for the cultural moment. As the commentators ushered fans, old and new, into an extended commercial break, my brain looked for a better source of distraction than commercials. Options included: Phone or laptop; Substack or vibe code?

I had a project I needed to wrap up as soon as possible, and it wouldn’t take much effort to fire off a couple prompts and let the AI agents code away. Alternatively, I had a running list of essays and articles that I hadn’t had time to read. The question was not about enjoyment, the question was about productivity, moreover, my ability to do either well.

That last part is what made me reach for my laptop. I began to prompt inside of an app that builds apps, and soon forgot about the entire soccer game. Morocco won, but I didn’t see the shoot out, and I didn’t see their faces as they were celebrating. I did, however, continue to stay up several hours past the end of the game, vibe coding.

Eventually, I pulled myself out of the pit I had dug. The feeling of disgust was oddly familiar. That’s when it hit me — vibe coding is closer to doom scrolling than reading long-form content.