I read here a lot of nostalgia of the 80's and 90's computers that were open to users' curiosity and changes, helping teenagers and young adults to develop comp

I read here a lot of nostalgia of the 80's and 90's computers that were open to users' curiosity and changes, helping teenagers and young adults to develop computer and programming skills... It is true but it is only a part of the story. For me, the real issue today is not much the disappearance of opportunities to practice and to learn: some of you noted the availability of open source, single board computers, cheap hardware, free software... and even the presence of a free JavaScript engine on all devices. No, the real issue when you have a computer flavor (PC, phone, tablet...) in hands is that there are too many distractions. In the past, you could get bored in front of your computer and look for new challenges: trying new stuff, trying some programmation, changing files... Now, you can switch from an unlimited stock of games, to an unlimited volume of press, to an unlimited volume of video, to an unlimited volume of discussions, to an unlimited volume of films and series... There is no place to get bored and look for new challenges. It even takes a strong will to refuse to engage with these stocks and keep programming and experimenting. I see it everyday with my teenager: I have a hard time stopping the brainwashing of day-long poor social discussions, shopping, video and series on a small phone screen. They are consumers instead of being actors. And when the phone is off, they are just lost, unable to engage in anything. To come back to the article, these machines are not only technical jails, they are also little mind-jails.