When it comes to making “big” purchases, I have to do it on a PC (desktop/laptop) rather than a phone. I thought I was weird in this way but recently saw this Reddit thread about other millennials having this problem. I don’t know if it’s the smaller screen that makes me feel like I’m missing something or if it’s just not what I started out with when making purchases online became more common. I might be a bad example anyways when it comes to big purchases since my wife sometimes has to click the “Buy” button so I’ll stop staring at the screen hesitating. My eyes are good enough, but I’m too old to feel that comfortable on a smaller screen.
Finding out I was far from alone in this PC vs. phone practice, I started down a rabbit hole of reading about related differences between generations.
Younger generations these days are starting out on smaller screens like phones or tablets. That’s no secret. What makes me start to cringe is hearing the idea of how some of the younger generation are looking at desktop computers the same way younger me would have looked at punch cards. According to this Pew Research Center article, 15–28% of 18–29-year-olds are “smartphone-only” internet users. For many, a smartphone is all they’ve known.
Even though I think having a desktop and/or laptop is still relevant, there is less emphasis on skills to manage this compared to a phone. “Keyboarding,” as it was known to my 7th grade class, was a course everyone had to take. According to this Wall Street Journal article, 44% of students took keyboarding in 2000 compared to only ~2.5% in 2019. Without knowing the “smartphone-only” stat and being optimistic, my assumption would be, “Almost everyone has a computer these days and will learn to type on their own, so it probably doesn’t need to be taught in schools.” Well, you know what happens when you assume.
From a financial standpoint, it doesn’t look like desktops/laptops are going to get more popular anytime soon. Sitting here in early 2026, there are plenty of AI trends driving up memory prices and laptop prices overall. For someone who can get by on a smartphone, a computer isn’t going to be affordable or worth it at all. Computers may be something most people only ever use for work instead of having a work computer and a home computer.
I know it seems like I’ve become the old man yelling at the clouds about things I don’t understand. PCs aren’t going away completely, but the PC era is trending that direction. Maybe that’s fine, but to me, it’s a valuable tool that many are missing out on. If you’re reading this, odds are you had similar formative experiences growing up breaking and fixing your computer as a kid. I wish more kids growing up could have these same experiences, but I suppose it’s destined to become a “back in my day” story instead.
Thanks for reading!
Chad Callihan 