@cel
That's true! In the 90ies many believed that soon everyone is going to be tech-savvy as kids are born and these technologies are already there and are affordable, but that didn't work out that way at all — most use their smartphones as our parents did kitchen appliances: they know how their apps work, but not much outside that. Nothing changed really, most don't treat computers like magic anymore, but they are still not interested in how tech works.
@evelyn
low level skills have definitely been lost; and a lot of Gen X/Millenials and even Boomers now have more of these skills than younger people. Also our parents/grandparents generation would be more likely to attempt basic repair/maintenance on a kitchen appliance (such as fitting mains plugs, replacing heating elements) than is common today (where a defective one is usually discarded and replaced)
@vfrmedia
To be completely just, this is not a purely generational issue. Electronic and electric equipment used to be way more repairable when our parents and us grew up. Most of my computers are a decade or more old and I sometimes open them up even for cleaning, but with most more modern ones this is near-useless — well, unless you're into soldering. Of course there are brands which make repairability a selling point, but it's definitely not mainstream.
@cel @evelyn
@vfrmedia
And I'm not the average person who is into repairing things, I used to hate it, but when I escaped to the country during COVID lockdowns, I found myself enjoying it more and more, I repaired a couple of electric devices and even fixed water piping once. Modern computers are a lost cause though, when you live in the city everyone's in a hurry and it's usually easier to just replace what's broken 😩
@cel @evelyn
@m0xee
indeed, since mid 1980s there has been the proliferation of surface mount components in modern electronics, and 3 if not more generations of components that have got smaller and smaller (like just a few milimetres in size). And this means even young people with good eyesight find it difficult to learn electronics from inspecting existing devices (as many components all look the same, especially passives)
@cel @evelyn