Younger people are more tech-savvy in general. Soon, I will have to relinquish my computer nerd status to my younger siblings with a superior understanding of modern-day technology. But helping my brother set up his custom pc made me realise this thought might be wrong. Are we the tech support generation – for the generations before and after?

My little brother was dreaming about building a gaming pc for months. He wants to become a professional gamer and did a lot of research on the type of pc he would like to have. But he’s still only 13, so when the parts came in, he needed help.

My brother-in-law helped him assemble the components, and I took care of the software part. I asked my brother to open youtube so we could test the sound to ensure all the ports were connected correctly. He responded: “Huh?? But we haven’t installed youtube yet?”. Of course, I had to laugh: he’s so used to mobile devices with apps that he probably never thought youtube is a website, too.

I assumed that my brother would quickly be more tech-savvy than I am. People tend to be more familiar with technology the younger they are. I have felt tech-ignorance-related shame multiple times when I clearly was lagging on new social media platforms. I still don’t really know how to use TikTok, but my siblings are so fast in picking up these kinds of things.

However, this pattern of ever-increasing tech knowledge can be broken. Current technologies have become easier and easier to use. Phones and laptops are practically ready to use straight out of the box, and software and application installations are increasingly becoming “next next finish.” For an increasing number of people, this is all the tech they have ever used. They will not need to learn the nitty-gritty details about their inner workings.

Maybe I’m asking too much or too soon. I’m not really familiar with tapes or floppy disks. Then, should I expect my brother to know how to install an OS from a USB stick? There’s no need to glorify skills that will lose their usefulness. Like I have always felt a little bit like a failed tech support person because I never managed to install Arch-Linux on a blank pc fully, but I have to admit that that skill would be of limited use nowadays.

My brother has just finished his first year of high school: too early to tell how much of a tech nerd he will grow to be. I’m happy and proud that he’s taken an interest, anyways. I never pushed him in this direction, and am surprised that he is so taken by it. I'm sure he will be a worthy successor to my tech support throne.

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