Zoomer here. The problem is really much worse than the meme suggests, and it isn’t really a generational gap at all.
The computer power user is a dying breed.
Today’s average computer user on windows, macos, or (heaven forbid) chromeos, knows nothing about software. They don’t even know what software is. They can’t install a program except through an app store. If you ask them which browser they use, they’ll probably say “google.” Furthermore, many perfectly functional people don’t use any computer except their phone.
The tendency toward user-friendly systems is fundamentally a good thing, in my opinion. It has advanced the democratisation of computing and its advantages. But on the flip side, it has left a huge swath of the general public totally reliant on systems they neither control nor understand in the slightest.
I use Arch, btw. I put my own computer together - I bought and assembled the hardware components, I performed a minimal, headless installation of my operating system, and I meticulously scripted every personalisation of my window manager (I use dwm).
To me, computing comes easily, as second nature. I used so many systems from such a young age that I simply intuit the design language of user interfaces, whether I’ve used them or not. To me, they seem painstakingly designed to make this easy. Yet, because of my computer literacy, I am often called upon as tech support for my family and friends, from zoomers to boomers, and most of them seem like helpless infants when it comes to technology.
This is because the average user doesn’t have to know or care what their system really does or how it really works. So, by the path of least resistance, a user learns the bare minimum to get what they want from their system. I’m not sure of anything that could change this reality.
As I said, it’s not a bad thing that most of the population can now access the advantages computing delivers. But I do see this state of affairs as brittle and concerning, where people depend utterly on software they don’t understand. This is often propriety software made by profit-driven corporations. The average user doesn’t know or care that they don’t actually control their software - because they don’t need to. They don’t know or care that their data is being tracked and sold, that their computer will update itself without permission or install programs they can’t vet, and that alternatives to this exist.
I see a lot of Millennials using G-drive instead of torrent, actually.
I was barely aware of the existence of pirate streaming services until they started cracking down on them. I torrent everything and run my own media server. (Millennial)
I just don’t use torrents anymore, I use xdcc. I used to torrent, but there is so much ransomware, ISP threats, malware, ect. I still use torrents for official things like Linux Isos or Gimp though. Gen z here
Gen X here. I agree torrents are for legit uses only
Usenet is the best for piracy
generation “doesn’t want to deal with petabytes of hard drive bullshit just to watch a show”
How could I possibly know a streaming site is illegal?
Streaming sites are illegal? How could I have known that??
Teach those that dont know and continue to seed. 🏴☠️🛶
The only correct answer
Phones (and tablets) changed the way people use devices. It’s neither better or worse imo, I use both methods.
Idk, being born in the early 2000s didn’t make torrenting any harder. Dare I say, it was the opposite: in the 10s, when I got into all this this, there already was a bunch of well-established trackers with tons of content one could use without fear of downloading a piece of malware instead of a new shiny game, for example.
This is 100% not true as I have personally had several times where I got ransomware (though still the thing I wanted to download somehow?) in late 2000s / 2010s. Hasn’t happened a single time since, even downloading the most sketchy torrents. For a lot of younger people, if they want to torrent something they’re not looking at trackers or much of anything, they just want the download. Windows defender used to be complete trash at preventing viruses so you’d need to know to download things like malwarebytes and be a lot more wary of what you download, and even if the torrent is 100% legit you’d have random registry/driver/software issues. Now these issues are rare unless you’re downloading some custom software or a much older game.
The one thing I would say was a lot easier back then is it would say “xyz free download” and it actually would be the thing itself instead of random bloatware.
Wait what sites are down? Just checked the ones I normally use and they’re fine?
Also, just to say, I think there’s this big learning curve with torrents cause people aren’t straight forward with others ask for advice (told what not to do rather than what to do) and there’s also just too much fear mongering about viruses.
That’s why they made streaming media. Worked good, didn’t it?
Generational wars doesn’t do anyone any favors.
Yeah and let’s not pretend that everyone back in 2002 was eMuling or torrenting and cracking videos games. I knew so many people who failed at ripping a CD to MP3 or copying it with a CD burner.
What war. It’s an acknowledgement of a historic shift. One generation received an education another didn’t out of necessity.
The subsequent ones need to fill the gap if they want to keep the knowledge. It’s been made available. Fuck we’re trying to pass it on.
I’m fucking using it even if you don’t
It’s not just one generation receiving an education vs. another one that didn’t. It’s that the platforms the generations used are fundamentally different.
Gen X / Millennials grew up with Macs and PCs, computers that were fundamentally not locked down. You could install any software you wanted. You could modify the OS in many ways. DRM wasn’t really a thing in general, and there were almost always easy ways around it.
Gen Z / Gen Alpha grew up mostly with cell phones. The phones they had are much more powerful than the PCs from 20-30 years ago, but they’re incredibly locked down. The only applications you’re allowed to use are the ones that Apple / Google allow on their app stores, unless you root your phone which is a major risk. It’s very hard to even load up your own audio files, movies or images let alone “dodgy” ones. DRM is everywhere, and the DMCA means you risk serious prison time if you bypass access controls.
Gen X / Millennials grew up at a time when there were still more than 5 tech companies in the world, and the companies out there competed with each-other. There were plenty of real standards, and lots of other de-facto standards that allowed programs to interoperate. Now you’re lucky if you can even use an app via its website vs. using a required app.
It’s not just a difference in education. It’s that companies have gained a lot more power, and the lack of antitrust enforcement has made for plenty of walled gardens and “look but don’t touch” experiences.
Acknowledging differences is not “war”.
The meme is literally mocking gen z
Lain?
♥️
LET’S ALL LOVE LAIN
and you don’t seem to understand…
A shame, you seemed an honest ma~~n.
How do you come to that conclusion with so little information about me?
Present day. Present time.
はい、そうです。
Yo Gundam Wing was sick, sweet music
Gundam 0083 has even better tunes. The music and animation of that one slap so hard you almost don’t notice the garbage plot lmao
I forgot to mention, Serial Experiment Lain was sweet too, though it’s been like 20 years since I’d seen it
Without seeds, torrents become almost useless, and many pirate sites offer rare and hard-to-find movies/animes whose torrent versions never download because their seeds are practically extinct forever. So I don’t think this is a weak complaint. If torrents didn’t have this weakness I would always choose to use them but…
The usenet has many treasures
Usenet is awesome, but the fact that you have to pay for Usenet access defeats the main purpose of pirating for a lot of people.
Don’t get me wrong, it is super cheap(60$-100$/year?) and worth it to pay for Usenet from what I understand, but as a poor kid that discovered torrenting out of necessity, paying for Usenet back then would’ve been out of the question. I imagine most Gen Z kids feel the same about it at this point in their lives.
I scored a year of unlimited Usenet for 32 bucks
Especially if you buy access via 2 providers on different backbones. Haven’t had a single failed/incomplete download since.
