Stack Overflow questions per year

Stack Overflow questions fell while Citi Bike trips rose between 2015 and 2022, and the inverse correlation (r = -0.957) has the satisfying shape of a narrative in which programmers stopped typing 'how do I center a div' and instead rode bicycles. This is not quite what happened, but it is the vibe.

Stack Overflow new-question volume declined by more than 50% over the window, with the drop accelerating post-Copilot (2021) and post-ChatGPT (2022); Citi Bike trips grew from 10 million in 2015 to over 35 million by 2022, fueled by network expansion into the outer boroughs, electric-assist bikes, and a pandemic-era reluctance to ride the subway. The two are linked by decade rather than causality, but the NYC software worker who used to ask a StackOverflow question at 2 p.m. now asks a language model at 2 p.m. and rides a Citi Bike home at 5 p.m., which is a small, specific life rearrangement that has happened at scale.

The question went unasked. The bike is unlocked. The afternoon has been rearranged quietly.