I don't doubt that there are more older people who consume information; in fact I would expect that given the overall aging of our population combined with the increasing ubiquity of computing devices.
But I do think that younger folk have more impetus, or at least more idle time, and more naivety, and ignorance combined with optimism can spark invention. I don't think I'm super old, but I did not expect Airbnb to be so successful, given how much Craigslist changed my life (and for free). And I understand why Twitter and Facebook are successful even though I grew up with blogs and Myspace...but it took me a long time to understand the appeal of Snapchat.
The abstractnrss of computer science is also a factor. You can practice and pivot with little direct cost or consequence. Whereas with civil engineering, there's only so much leeway for fun experimentation with structural principles before you end up killing someone.
But I do think that younger folk have more impetus, or at least more idle time, and more naivety, and ignorance combined with optimism can spark invention. I don't think I'm super old, but I did not expect Airbnb to be so successful, given how much Craigslist changed my life (and for free). And I understand why Twitter and Facebook are successful even though I grew up with blogs and Myspace...but it took me a long time to understand the appeal of Snapchat.
The abstractnrss of computer science is also a factor. You can practice and pivot with little direct cost or consequence. Whereas with civil engineering, there's only so much leeway for fun experimentation with structural principles before you end up killing someone.