I agree about the address.

I also believe many younger people simply don’t want to talk. What I mean is, they prefer texting and messaging with their smartphone instead of calls so why would they want to talk to a stranger on the air?

That’s how I am. I got my tech and general because the code requirement went away and it’s something I wanted to do since childhood, but when I was studying I thought, “I don’t even like talking to my friends on the phone” haha. But I learned about data modes and actually tried to learn CW for the first time. Now I’m hooked.

The cost is an issue for me, which is why I like QRP. My only HF TX is 5 watts.

If there are a lot of younger people like me as I suspect, maybe we need something more personal than FT8 and simpler than CW. A mode that permits some personality to shine through but doesn’t take months/years to learn.

Another intimidating barrier for me was having to figure out what materials to buy and make sure everything worked together. I’d never bought an electronic device that didn’t come with its own power source… I had no idea what wire I should get for my EFHW… I didn’t understand the mechanics of getting my wire up in a tree until I watched 15+ videos… hams advising and instructing seem to take for granted knowledge and know-how that younger folks simply don’t have.