I think I kind of dislike the generalization on generation.
There’s a lot of pitfalls in that direction… but there’s also no denying that there’s an entire generation of people who grew up equating using computers with programming computers.
Our Apple IIs and C64s booted into BASIC. That was the interface you learned. Just using the computer literally involved programming, even if it was tangential. My grade school “computer class” where we learned how to use a computer, was focused on programming the turtle to move around the screen with LOGO. I remember a time when “repeat” was the longest word I knew how to spell because of that class.
Basically, you have to go out of your way to learn how to program today, involving downloading specialized software etc. In the 80s, you were ankle deep in programming just by turning the computer on.
There’s a lot of pitfalls in that direction… but there’s also no denying that there’s an entire generation of people who grew up equating using computers with programming computers.
Our Apple IIs and C64s booted into BASIC. That was the interface you learned. Just using the computer literally involved programming, even if it was tangential. My grade school “computer class” where we learned how to use a computer, was focused on programming the turtle to move around the screen with LOGO. I remember a time when “repeat” was the longest word I knew how to spell because of that class.
Basically, you have to go out of your way to learn how to program today, involving downloading specialized software etc. In the 80s, you were ankle deep in programming just by turning the computer on.