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Does that same feeling of wow still exist for kids today? They have grown up with computers there entire life. Some of us were introduced to computers in our te

Does that same feeling of wow still exist for kids today? They have grown up with computers there entire life. Some of us were introduced to computers in our teens, so there was prior experience of not having a computer for that wow to hit. Even now, the wow factor has diminished for me with new computers/devices. They are not really doing anything new as much as they just do the things faster/quiter/cheaper/smaller. There are definite milestones for me that just made my socks roll up and down when they were first available on computers. Is there anything not done on a computer now?

cosmic_cheese 1y ago
> Some of us were introduced to computers in our teens, so there was prior experience of not having a computer for that wow to hit. The effect is similar for those of us whose exposure was earlier, but similarly devoid of computers prior. In my case it was a 1996 Mac tower w/internal 28k modem, at which point I was seven. It was not only the first computer of any sort in the house (no game consoles either) but also our first CD player. Up until then, the extent of tech for me was a late 80s Sharp VCR and an even older faux wood console Zenith TV hooked up to a roof antenna (no cable). Anything beyond that existed only in TV commercials and movies. It was such a huge shift that it’s difficult to articulate. It sparked a lifelong obsession.
alnwlsn 1y ago
In my case the computers I 'learned computers' on were old pre-xp 90's machines. Nobody cares if some kid wants to take apart a few old computers on their way to the trash. That feeling of 'getting something to work' on those old machines sort of never went away for me, which is why I like retrocomputing even though the internet, cell phones, youtube, social media was pretty much around most of my life.

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Does that same feeling of wow still exist for kids today? They have grown up with computers there entire life. Some of us were introduced to computers in our te

by dylan604 1y ago

cosmic_cheese 1y ago
> Some of us were introduced to computers in our teens, so there was prior experience of not having a computer for that wow to hit. The effect is similar for those of us whose exposure was earlier, but similarly devoid of computers prior. In my case it was a 1996 Mac tower w/internal 28k modem, at which point I was seven. It was not only the first computer of any sort in the house (no game consoles either) but also our first CD player. Up until then, the extent of tech for me was a late 80s Sharp VCR and an even older faux wood console Zenith TV hooked up to a roof antenna (no cable). Anything beyond that existed only in TV commercials and movies. It was such a huge shift that it’s difficult to articulate. It sparked a lifelong obsession.
alnwlsn 1y ago
In my case the computers I 'learned computers' on were old pre-xp 90's machines. Nobody cares if some kid wants to take apart a few old computers on their way to the trash. That feeling of 'getting something to work' on those old machines sort of never went away for me, which is why I like retrocomputing even though the internet, cell phones, youtube, social media was pretty much around most of my life.