This sounds like misdirected and misplaced anger and frustration - many of us share the same frustrations, but I think your response is a little unwarranted and makes a number of assumptions.

Programming is not worthless. It has countless applications.

Messaging /Communication is not worthless per se. It can be used in a multitude of ways, including to educate and inform.

And even if we focus purely on entertainment, yes we could abandon all attempts at entertainment because the world is crumbling, but I’m not sure that will change much in reality, unfortunately. Everyone needs down-time, even people who spend the rest of their time saving the planet. AI could perform jobs/tasks that will be done regardless of whether we like them or not, and do then far more efficiently (cutting down on development time could cut down on power-usage, emissions etc in a number of industries).

Marketing/branding is undoubtedly still a huge part of the equation but I’m not sure I agree with your assertion that this accounts for the level of dominance now.

The Apple of yesteryear definitely relied primarily on branding, but ever since the emergence of the iPod, as far as I can see it’s increasingly been about the stability, usability, security & integration of their software and hardware. It was gradual at first but has been gathering momentum. I’d posit that these factors now at least sit alongside the marketing rather than being incidental to it.

This is of course anecdotal and if you have up-to-date concrete stats suggesting otherwise, please do share. It’s an interesting topic.

I don’t think the popularity of things like iPhones & iPads among the elderly is about marketing, but about legitimate usability. I come from a tech background and the amount of developers I know who are now Mac converts is rather staggering. These guys know their stuff. They’re certainly not anti-PC and many use PCs at work but Macs for personal use. The M1 processors are delivering insane speeds now, too. This is certainly drawing in friends and acquaintances of mine from other fields.

But most of all, as computers lose their novelty factor and increasingly become part of the furniture, I think many people just want something that works, is relatively hassle free, relatively secure, and integrates with your other devices, and in the main, that’s what Apple’s ecosystem excels at.

I’m no fan boy (in fact it was the ‘fanboyism’ and marketing of Apple that made me steer clear of them for many years) but I am without doubt a convert. If I wanted customisation I’d go down the PC/Android route. If I want stability and integration, for me it’s Apple.