... and it's not about the age difference.
Whenever I have the choice, I prefer using the laptop over the smartphone. My nieces, on the other hand, don't know how to use a laptop, have never seen a desktop functioning, but they are wizzes with smartphones from very young ages.
I am still the smartphone "expert" compared to my parents, although I don't prefer it, but I am amazed by how many things my nieces catch on and how quickly. You should see them type and go through the menus...
They know for a while how to add bunny ears or whatever effects when taking photos (actually, they're way past that phase, now they are trying to take "professional" photos), they've learned to take 360-degree photos and to position themselves to look "cool" (even how to show up twice in the same photo without editing it).
But now, they moved on to the next level: they started doing basic video editing with a simple program. They have a 30-second video ready in 3 minutes. Now, don't expect top quality or a consistent message. They are kids playing around.
And obviously, they play tons of games, both single and multiplayer, and often in teams. You should see them in a Whatsup group call or whatever they use, coordinating with other members of the team. And that despite their parents limiting their access to the internet and forcing them to play in the real world as well.
At their age, I haven't seen a computer working other than in movies (maybe) and our telephone had a wire and a rotary dial. I had my first contact with Spectrum OS-based computers when I was one year older than my oldest niece. The following year I saw the first 286 PC in reality and it's probably when I fell in love with computer science.
And since I mentioned up there about the way my nieces coordinate in online games on their smartphones or tablets these days, my first video games came on audio cassettes and they were pirated. Damn, how the world changed!
The generational gap is real. Yes, you can catch up and learn as you grow old. We might even be more organized and focused when we learn something in our maturity. But it doesn't compare with the capacity to soak up novelties that children possess.
I expect it won't pass long until I start asking them to teach me things instead of me teaching them. Well, maybe I'll still have a few things to teach them. Like chess...
