Stack Overflow questions per yearUS pet insurance policies in force
American pet-insurance policies multiplying as Stack Overflow questions decline. The dog has health insurance; the programmer no longer asks how to centre a div. Two completely unrelated trends on opposite sides of the regression line.
US pet insurance policies grew from about 1.8 million in 2015 to over 5.4 million by 2022 as the category expanded and employer-offered pet benefits normalised the product. Stack Overflow questions peaked around 2014 and have declined sharply since 2022, accelerated by GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and the broader LLM coding-assistant wave that absorbed simple how-do-I queries. Two completely unrelated lines on opposite trajectories sharing a window because the same eight years saw two different industries respond to two completely different optimisation pressures.
AI absorbed one habit. Pet humanisation rewarded another. The decade redirected effort.
As an Amazon Associate, getspurious.com earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more.
Want to learn more about why correlations like “Stack Overflow questions per year” vs “US pet insurance policies in force” don't prove causation? Read our guide to statistical thinking.
