[tristor]

For me, it was always simple. Learning to program gives you control over your environment, and in some sense the world. This is more true now then it was when I was a teenager.

For most teens the thing they grate against the most is lack of control over themselves and their direction. Programming puts you back in control. You can make a general purpose computer do anything you can imagine.

[kradeelav]

This was the answer I was hoping to find as it always resonated with why I've stuck around computers and even gone head-first in the linux world. In this day and age when everyone and their corporate overlords are trying to lock down expression, action, speech, privacy ... even knowing basic "tech health" goes a long way.