My concern in the long run is that over time the newer generations arent going to ever learn/know how freeing personal computing used to be.

Oh absolutely! It becomes normalized for those who never knew any other way.

I lucked out, my pa was a techie and got me steered towards the importance of tech freedom. Not everyone is so fortunate. Tech is almost an extension of our minds now. How we remember. How we learn. How we communicate. When we give away control of our devices to big tech, it’s like giving away control of our thoughts and emotions. Even our culture.