iiiiiiitttttttttttt

I always feel like Gen X should be labeled as the "forgotten generation".

I'm not American. I'm also Gen z, but the older parts are typically better at computers.

"sure, they grew up with technology, they'll be fine"

access to a PC and the knowledge to use it is a privilege not afforded to most

Yes and no. Computers have never been cheaper, but back in the 90's and 2000's there was only The Computer :TM:. Now a computer is in your pocket, on a tablet, a laptop, or a desktop. You can get a PC for cheaper than a smartphone (beelink anyone?)

I don't blame zoomers for not knowing proper desktop/laptop computer usage. You can do basically everything without them these days. But it is an objective fact that the consequence is lower computer literacy. Whether that's a big deal or more like not knowing how to write cursive is up to you and largely depends on what job they plan on holding one day. This may comes as a shock to Lemmy users but in the 2020's you can completely function without ever touching a mouse and keyboard.

So no, access is not necessarily a privilege unless we are talking about populations that already can't access smart phones and tablets, in which case that's a decades-old problem and not relevant. That's just basic access to any computer device writ large, not a discussion about PC's.

I understand the reasons, but so many people I've had to deal with don't seem to want to learn.

Most people carry a smartphone more expensive than my all organs combined to be fair, at least in US.

Linux and technology in general is not that hard as long as you aren't scared of clicking everything and messing around. And I say this as someone who didn't have internet access until 2020.

I bought a 2013 MacBook Air for $60 a year ago to take with me on a backpacking trip.

It is running the very latest release of EndeavourOS and runs it well. It can do video calls. Honestly, there is little it cannot do.

You can use it to learn to program C, C++, Rust, Python, Go, Java, C#, and F#. It runs Distrobox and Docker so you can learn about containers. I guess after using QEMU/KVM to learn about VMs. You can use it to run K3S. You can run Postman, RestAssured, and Selenium to learn about Web APIs and testing. It runs WASM. You can orchestrate AWS or Azure from it as it runs both Terraform and OpenTofu great. It can run a host of cybersecurity tools including BurpSuite. You can run both SQL and Document databases. You can use it to package your own software and contribute to Linux distro development. You can emulate older machines and even run digital design tools and PCB layout. Obviously it runs all the major modern web browsers and a couple different Office suites. It can even do basic video editing and run smaller LLMs. It can run Steam if you are happy with older games. I know it can do all these things because I have.

Without going on and on, I think you could use it to rotate a PDF.

It comes with keyboard, trackpad, screen, and networking built in. It takes up hardly any space. And it is considerably less expensive than most phones and tablets. Of course, there are many less expensive computers that would also do the trick if you cannot afford $60 and just want to learn.

I don’t think you can argue that basic computer skills are elitist. We are not talking F1 racing here.

I am a zoomer, and this generation as a whole is a lot worse at technology.

Its not something that's happened for no reason, smartphones become more popular and simple to use technology, and older people assuming these people will be good with tech as they grew up with it are big factors.

The 1% is causing a lot of problems, but this largely isn't by them.

Wrong thread

They read the first answer the AI gives them.

This is why Im terrified of my parents learning how to use ChatGPT.

My dad still falls for satire. It took us years to convince him the tabloids in supermarkets about Bigfoot weren't real.

He's not a smart guy. But He's still my dad though.

Your comment made me think:

It’s one thing if they aren’t great at using computers to be productive, but for the love of God children please don’t trust what the computer or the company selling it tells you!

There wasn't voice Chat in early games and you had to type fast to communicate and not die.

Typing was taught to boomers and genx first dude. In fact, as a liminal i'd readily say i've had an arseload more typing "teaching" than you have - both keyboard and typewriter- and i'll wager my mother in the age of typewriters had even more.