Does anyone else think this

Tonykay nailed it. However I do think there are many young folks who would get into this if they had the money but lets face it guys the price of admission is getting higher and higher. Thats not to say that that there isnt alot of good entry level gear being made these days but to get a taste of what the upper end has to offer is just plain out of reach for not only young people but even for those in their middle ages and beyond.

It's interesting to me that when I used to go into certain hifi shops in minneapolis where the systems set up costs tens of thousands of dollars, the demographic was usually older white successful men discussing cables and tubes vs solid state etc with the sales staff. But everytime I went into the needle doctor where the systems set up were much more affordable, the staff and clientele were much younger and the topic of conversation was usually music and live shows that were happening in the metro area.

To me thats what this is all really about the enjoyment of music by any means one can afford. As dpatterson said who cares about how big the boxes are, hell I wish I had an Ipad and some beats back in the day bet it would of sounded better than the crappy sound design stereo I saved up all summer to buy.

And if they continue like that, those next generations will become degenerations. There is always time for meaningful things.
Ipad sounds like crap compared to a good boombox with good analog recording and cassette. I used to have one, and it didn't cost much.

Ah yes boom boxes and cassettes....wait why did they go by the wayside? Please remind us.

It's not just younger people. In 2003 I reunited with an old friend I hadn't seen since '79, and upon seeing the pair of Infinity RS-1b's I had at the time he said "Ya know, people don't have big speakers anymore". To which I replied "They never did". He's a typical musician, having listened to cassette tapes on a boombox in the old days, and to CD's and You Tube videos on his computer now.

Because "cassette" is more difficult to pronounce than "ipad". Principle of simplicity, sort of.
I also remember my $100 Technics direct drive turntable, that despite all its flaws could get you into the recording. And I didn't even bother to clean the records then.
It's ridiculous how those i-devices sound - they can't get a single note right. Or rhythm, for that matter.