It's difficult not to mouth off, but perhaps worth the effort.

My 6yo will look for an object for approximately 0.25 seconds before yelling to ask where it is. Sometimes he can't even spot things I'm pointing directly at.

Other times I'm taken off guard by his quick wit or long memory.

Wisdom always comes at a cost. We should not shame those who are still saving up for the down payment.

Part of it is that they've grown up with smartphones and tablets, so they don't understand the basic functions of computers.

Schools have mostly moved to Chromebooks, so kids don't learn how to save and organize files locally. Everything in their lives is in the cloud or in a specialized app.

Trying to work on a PC with a shared file server on a business network without additional training is like trying to converse in a language they've never spoken.

GenXers and elder Millennials were the last people who learned tech skills on PCs first. There are very few younger people who ever needed to learn basic DOS prompts or how to troubleshoot problems.

They're used to everything just working without additional intervention, and they have no idea where to start looking for answers when it doesn't. Most of that is our fault -- we've made things far too easy for them because it's more comfortable for us as parents and teachers to give them the answers than to guide them as they struggle with the challenge.

I'm training a 26yo right now. He's eager to figure things out. I've made things easy and comfortable to learn and he's thriving on my efforts (positivly) he's doing well with appropriate training. However I have a 50 year old that is trailing heavily behind because he wants things to just work.

I'm trying to build a system that provides ease of use but it seems like the older gen isn't interested in it working and more just like getting an easy paycheck.

Since I started learning enough about computers that I have a reason to be hanging out in forums and issue trackers I've really changed the way I think about tech problems.

From feedback given to me, and to others, and from general posting guidelines, I learned to be more systematic about looking for answer. Going through the process of writing out in full what happened can clarify things. I often start writing a question, never to post it because it gets solved half way through. Assemble the logs. Check the environment isn't wonky somehow. Upgrade everything. Check the docs. Check the latest release notes. Verify the details.

I've always been comfortable with the software side of computers but I have a lot more confidence lately because of all this. But I never would have been able to learn it on my own. Equally important as the thinking is that I know I can lean on community members to help me get through those cognitive bottlenecks. By reading the vast archives of prior discussions and problem solving, and occasionally asking my own, or even answering if possible, I'm getting smarter at my areas of interest every year.

But I wasn't born knowing that, nor was it kept from me. I got socialized into a certain way of doing and thinking things that is appropriate to these situations. There is no reason why any newcomer would arrive so socialized. So you need to bring them through the process.