[Cthulhu_]

Instead, they get apps that can change their voice and face in thousands of ways.

I mean I get the "born in the wrong generation" vibe, but at the same time it's easy to get blinkered and not realize what came instead. In a LOT of ways, they (and we) were born in the RIGHT generation.

[latexr]

Part of the fun in the fan is discovering the accidental feature. You play with it and transform what it can do, unconstrained (except by natural laws).

With an app, you’re using a tool for its intended purpose. There’s little joy in discoverability because you’re following the rules the developer set.

That’s why the fan can be more fun; it’s not generational. The fun is in exploring a novel feature in something you though you thoroughly understood.

When the novelty is over with the app, you delete it (was the hour of fun worth getting your data mined?) and return to the boredom (find the next app). With the fan, you simply stop and it continues to be useful. Without you taking deliberate action, everything returns to the way it was. Except for your mind, which metaphorically expanded and wants to see what else can be used in creative ways.