And those memes are hilarious

I mean, for most distros you should be about to install and use the OS without touching the terminal. Yeah, you may want to use it for some things (idk what you were trying to do) but it's kind of the same thing in Windows with registry edits and such. It's a tool and if you don't know how to use it, you're probably gonna get lost.

Also how is it easier to go to a webpage to download an installer instead of using a store? Even microsoft is trying to move in that direction.

I don't want to say your experience is invalid because I definitely think Linux can improve in terms of user experience. But it's not very helpful to just complain about stuff vaguely.

You're right. It's not that difficult of a concept and luckily Linux works just like that. I will admit that Linux wasn't always user friendly but it's made leaps and bounds in that department. A bit less than a year ago, I decided one day to wipe my SSD completely and install Linux and I've been using it ever since. I'm doing everything I was doing for. Obviously this is going to depend on your specific needs but for me it's been just fine.

The issue you're having is it sounds like you don't understand package managers. On your phone you go through the Play store or Apple store, and they manage your apps and keep them updated. It's the same for Linux. You download and install things through the package manager (using the terminal or through the Discover application, assuming your distro has that). On Windows you go to a website and download an application, and that application has to keep track of updating itself. It has to check online for updates every time it launches and then ask you to download and install it then. Package managers are much more convenient. It may take a minute to get used to, but it's better once you do.