Is it possible that the value derived from a hackathon depends largely on your age and nothing else? When I was 18 I loved this kind of stuff and would do it fo

Is it possible that the value derived from a hackathon depends largely on your age and nothing else? When I was 18 I loved this kind of stuff and would do it for fun, if nothing other to learn and make friends. Now you'd be hard pressed to get me there unless my team was people I know and worked with in the past. And it would be almost irresponsible to see parents there.