I do think it is likely that many people get exposed to EA and realise it isn’t a great space for them personally, and choose not to engage as a result. These people won’t have filled in the EA Sometimes those people might not be a good fit for EA anyway—they have different priorities or values in their lives. But I expect some would have been very value aligned and gotten a lot out of being involved, so that is the group I’m worried about.
The Rethink Priorities data makes me (tentatively) a little less worried that a large number of people spend a couple of years engaging EA (and so fill in the survey) and find it too rough for them and then leave (and don’t fill in subsequent surveys). I DO think this happens to some people. But if this was a very large pattern I would expect community member who had been around longer to say it is more positive for their mental health, whereas the data points gently in the opposite direction.
I don’t know whether active community members are more or less likely to fill in the survey if they’re having a rough time in EA. I think it could go either way.
I’m really not sure.
I do think it is likely that many people get exposed to EA and realise it isn’t a great space for them personally, and choose not to engage as a result. These people won’t have filled in the EA Sometimes those people might not be a good fit for EA anyway—they have different priorities or values in their lives. But I expect some would have been very value aligned and gotten a lot out of being involved, so that is the group I’m worried about.
The Rethink Priorities data makes me (tentatively) a little less worried that a large number of people spend a couple of years engaging EA (and so fill in the survey) and find it too rough for them and then leave (and don’t fill in subsequent surveys). I DO think this happens to some people. But if this was a very large pattern I would expect community member who had been around longer to say it is more positive for their mental health, whereas the data points gently in the opposite direction.
I don’t know whether active community members are more or less likely to fill in the survey if they’re having a rough time in EA. I think it could go either way.