[wlievens]

Sure, but I think that's accounted for when you see the absolute number of engineering/cs graduates drop.

Also, I would expect that being immersed in technology would at least stimulate curiosity in how it works, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all.

[lubutu]

Admiring nature and animals doesn't lead to my becoming a biologist, nor drinking beer lead to my founding a brewery. You can appreciate something without having to really understand what is going on beneath the surface. We are just predisposed to an interest in technology, is all.

[joezydeco]

We can't peek under the hood or tinker with things like decades past.

You can't peek the lid of a PC like you could with an Apple ][. There's no pre-installed BASIC to play with. No schematics. Even most cars are now "no user servicable parts inside" when you lift the hood.