Why nobody's creating coding tutorials anymore

Maximilian Schwarzmüller introduces the video by reacting to Melke's video titled 'No One Watches YouTube to Learn Anymore' where he was mentioned. He acknowledges the mispronunciation of his name and agrees with the premise that coding tutorials are declining. The speaker references how Melke pointed out that major educational channels like Traversy Media, Ben Awad, and his own have shifted away from traditional tutorial content. Traversy Media now focuses on opinion pieces about tech stacks and AI's impact, while Ben Awad has stopped making videos altogether, illustrating the broader trend of educational content creators moving away from tutorials.

The creator clarifies that his current channel was founded to share opinions, while his main tutorial content lives on the Academind channel, which has seen reduced activity. He acknowledges that high-quality tutorial content still exists from creators like Code with Antonio, Free Code Camp, and Python tutorial channels, but view numbers have declined significantly. The speaker observes a trend toward more entertainment-focused, low-level, project-building content rather than advanced educational material. He notes that viewers seem to prefer watching projects being built rather than learning how to build them themselves, marking a shift from education to entertainment in coding content consumption.

The first major factor identified is the rise of TikTok (launched 2016, mainstream by 2018-2019) and short-form content platforms. TikTok has 2 billion global users, while YouTube Shorts alone generates over 70 billion views daily, which the speaker describes as 'wasted time.' The creator shows data from his own channels demonstrating that around 2018-2020, he could create 30-minute tutorial series on topics like Node.js and GraphQL that would accumulate significant views. He contrasts this with current content, where recent AWS tutorials with considerable effort received fewer than 10,000 views after three years. The decreased attention span has made long-form educational content increasingly difficult to sustain, fundamentally changing what content performs well on the platform.

The speaker presents a chart showing software development job postings on Indeed in the United States, which spiked dramatically during the pandemic and then crashed before ChatGPT's release. Companies over-hired during the pandemic thinking the high demand was the 'new normal,' but the market corrected sharply. The pandemic period was described as 'amazing' for content creators because everyone was learning to code, driving high course sales and YouTube views. However, the decline in job postings indicates reduced demand for learning resources. The speaker notes this isn't just web development but affects all software development including game development, with many studios closing. The data suggests the market may have hit bottom, but the recovery remains uncertain, especially with AI's additional impact on the job market.

AI, particularly ChatGPT released in November 2022, represents the third major disruption to tutorial content. The speaker questions why anyone would watch a 30-minute tutorial when they can ask ChatGPT for instant answers. He includes a shameless plug for his buildmygraphic.com site while discussing AI. However, he raises important concerns about AI learning: while it offers convenience and allows for follow-up questions, it may lead to 'stupidity hell' where users accept solutions without understanding them, never developing real skills. The speaker contrasts this with 'tutorial hell' where learners watched too many tutorials without applying knowledge. He acknowledges AI's usefulness but emphasizes the difference between getting quick results versus genuine learning that requires thinking, research, and understanding, which involves 'wiring up neurons' that doesn't come for free.

The speaker addresses critics who claim tutorial hell was always problematic, acknowledging that learning requires applying knowledge through practice, not just passive consumption. He argues that human-guided learning still provides unique value: human input offers opinions, experience, explanations of alternatives, and contextual side quests that AI prompts might miss. Depending on how users prompt AI, they may never learn about alternative approaches or understand why certain solutions are preferred. He advocates for blended learning that combines human guidance with AI assistance as the optimal approach. The speaker announces plans to work on better solutions for this blended learning approach in the coming year with some 'great ideas,' including a free full course on Academind. He concludes by accepting that all three factors (short-form content, macroeconomics, and AI) will likely accelerate rather than reverse, requiring content creators to adapt to this new reality.