Below is my reply - edited quite a bit - to an email which suggested the term "Tech Whiz Kids" (which I often use in writing & speech) is somewhat inaccurate because many of those people now are much older.
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I have no problem with you or anyone substituting some other term for "kids" in "Tech Whiz Kids" (TWK). But for me, they're all TWK, regardless of age. "Kids" is not meant to be taken literally. For me, it denotes an attitude. In general, they are "playing with fire" when they develop things which atomize our society, & they don't even think about the unintended consequences. By "atomize our society", I mean: depriving us of meaningful relationships with others (which, admittedly, usually is done by higher-ups in the Corporatocracy re things like labor unions) via luring us away from those relationships, or damaging them with gizmos designed to make each of us an island unto ourselves. So, only one of many examples: some younger people think their 7,000 "friends" on some "social" medium actually are significant. Why go out into the world & meet with real friends when I have my gizmo right here in the house with 7,000 "friends" on it?
[Kids sometimes play with fire.]
The adult TWK act irresponsibly also when they build-in obsolescence into their products. It takes 500 lbs of raw materials to make one cell phone. I don't know how many pounds it takes to make some of their larger crap which also has a short lifespan. [Kids sometimes/often act irresponsibly.]
Their companies, usually run by TWK who moved up the corporate ladder, are often deceitful beyond belief. One example: I think it's Apple who claims to be 100% "Green". In fact, they farm out the manufacture of products to other companies located in places with few to no environmental regulations. Those other companies generally have egregious practices when it comes to pollution, etc. But Apple technically can claim to be "Green". [Kids often are deceitful.]
Bottom line: I believe the High Tech Industry - despite the good & useful things it has done - has pretty much ruined our society, both physically/materially, spiritually (in a generic sense), and culturally. It has atomized us, stolen our privacy, polluted the ecosphere, gobbled up natural resources, enabled dictatorial governments & oligarchs (with undemocratic, egregious surveillance programs/gizmos), enabled wars being fought with no soldiers (except drone operators, making illegal wars more numerous), promulgated infinite growth on a finite planet, & more. I believe High Tech is in the top 5 worst industries in the history of our species. As far as I can tell, the majority of TWK act just like spoiled, irresponsible, destructive kids. They've contributed greatly to the ruination of our kids, our society, and our planet. It seems their primary goal is to get rich...at almost any cost.
Just my opinion, & it won't change. I think the "bad" side of High Tech far outweighs the "good" side. Congress could change things for the better, but probably won't. Except for a very few, most of our elected officials in the Fed Gov't favor the corporatists, not Main Street. [Corporatism is not Adam Smith capitalism; essentially, it's fascism - the marriage of the power of the State to the power of Mega Biz.] The good things about High Tech should be supported; the bad things should be boycotted. Only consumers can significantly put High Tech on a better path. The Fed Gov't has shown over & over it will do little to such effect.
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Not only my opinion, & Everyone Be Well
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