[budding2141]

Computers definitely do not seem that important for young people of today. They can get quite far by using phone with a few apps (social media, browser, etc.) Not that I think this is a good thing, but simply my observation.

[rekenaut]

They’re not important to (most) young people today for the same reasons health insurance plans aren’t important to young people today: they just haven’t reached the professional world yet. Once they get there, computers suddenly become very important.

Many people who are not tech enthusiasts will be interacting with a computer for at least 40 hours a week or more for nearly half of their lives. If you used any other tool that much, you’d want to get really good at using it. Why shouldn’t the same hold for computers today?

[squigz]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "quite far"

Regardless of what they choose to use for their leisure time, computers will still be important in school and likely at work in the future. Not to mention that many young people still use computers regularly for leisure (gaming, chatting, etc)

In any case, learning touch typing would still translate somewhat to typing on a phone - certainly things are different, but getting used to where the letters are still helps.