📢
6
c/coding-for-beginners•mark731mark731•3mo ago

My nephew asked me why we even need HTML anymore

He's 12 and learning on some new visual builder platform, and it made me realize how much the starting point has shifted since I opened Notepad in 2005. Anyone else feel like the 'first step' into code is totally different now?
3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
3 Comments
dylanbarnes
Reminds me of how we don't see the wires behind the walls anymore... everything just works. Kids start with the polished result, not the messy bits that make it run. They tap a screen and something happens, so the idea of typing raw code seems weird and pointless. It's like asking why you need to know how an engine works when you can just push the gas pedal. The first step isn't a blank page now, it's a menu of pre-built choices.
-1
coleman.avery
My nephew thinks wifi is just a button on the remote.
6
river190
river1902mo ago
My little cousin asked me how to save a file last week. She's ten and has only used cloud auto save on her school tablet. The concept of a folder on a physical drive was totally foreign, like explaining a landline. We're building this smooth layer over everything, but it means the next generation has zero mental model for how any of it is actually built. They see the app, not the thousands of lines of code that make the button turn blue when you tap it. It's convenient, but it makes problem solving a mystery when the menu doesn't have the right choice.
1