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My boss very confidently proclaimed that all serious IT professionals use a Mac. Said Linux "is for programmers and nerds"

Im suspect about 50. Im just a bit older and it was thing for nerds back then.

TL;DR? Why not just go watch another five second video of a kitten with its head in a toilet roll, or a 140 character description of a meal your friend just stuffed in their mouth. "nom nom". This blog post is not for you.

wow, this some next level obnoxious boomer shit.

This actually what drives me nuts about the US. Its like everyone is expected to be a doctor, a lawyer, an investor, a mechanic, an electrician, plumber, IT, and just everything. I look at the old black and white shows where the tv repair man is called and im like. wtf happened to this country.

100% agree.

I'm 50 years old and I am the IT guy for people of all ages. Not because I am part of some gifted generation that understands computers, but because I have a genuine interest and took the time to learn these things.

My 16yo son also has a keen interest in computers and I am passing on my knowledge where I can.

I somewhat feel that attributing computer knowledge to a generational thing in some way diminishes the effort and time it took to get the knowledge and experience that I do have.

You don't have to have hung around with Henry Ford to be a car guy, or Nikola Tesla to be an electrician.

"DIY" is a thing because many strive to understand enough of multiple relevant basic disciplines needed as an adult to be able to cover the first 15% or so of common jobs before they see their limitations and call the specialists.

I believe the expressed frustration here is around the fact that acquiring that first 15% type skill is no longer seen as a responsibility/point of pride for folks to gain as they grow.

It's like we just happened to grow up at the right time where everyone was raised to be a mechanic, and we wonder why our kids don't fix their own cars.

I think that's the real crux of it. Most people don't know. There may have been a bump in literacy, but most people don't know, don't care, and don't need to. If we had better education, this kind of thing could be a core class. I had computer classes, but they mainly focused on typing and specific programs. Basically nothing about components, the command prompt, programming, different OS, etc. Granted this was many years ago, but I live in Florida. So, it's probably worse.

"Try teaching an impatient person, who undervalues the subject matter, already missed several opportunities to learn about it in formal education settings and who you lack a teacher-student dynamic with..."

Or, in a way...

"It's one banana, Michael - what could it cost, $10?"

I refuse to fix anything for my inlaws without them watching me. I make them watch me Google the solutions and follow the instructions. It helps reinforce the "it's not magic and I'm not a wizard" reality I want to instill in everyone.