Hmm.

I'm 17, so here is what I have to say on that. Keep in mind I live in a rural, farm town so it might be a bit different in more urban areas. I don't know. I'm just basing what I'm saying on what I hear online, and my own observations.

Computer related fields are DEFINITELY looked on as a "good career" and "the future", but I see a lot of my peers, even if they are vaguely interested, believe that they "aren't techy enough" to have a computer related job in the future. Which I always find strange, because you don't have to be "nerdy" or anything. You just... learn? Like any other job that requires some kind of skill. You don't have to be "plumber-y" enough to get a job as a plumber, and similarly you don't have to be "techy" to get a job in tech. Anyway...

Most people my age that I'm around don't know the difference between Google and the Internet, and it still tends to be the socially awkward, nerdy people who get into computers. So, to answer your question, maybe social awkwardness or being nerdy is less of a "requirement" now than before because being a "geeky computer user" isn't really a stigmatized thing anymore since everyone interacts with computers in some fashion nowadays and my generation as a whole seems a bit more open minded with a lot of things compared to previous ones, but it's still definitely a stereotype that's sticking around and probably will stay around for a while.

> my generation as a whole seems a bit more open minded with a lot of things compared to previous ones

I know this isn't your main point, but I don't see much difference so far. I think the internet has allowed people who don't fit in locally to fit in with groups they find online, which is good, but that's been happening for 30 years.

I'm going to counter this. I feel it's still stigmatized as hell. Got to much experiences with it. (The Netherlands)

Hang in there.

If you're still in middle or high school (i.e. Between 12-18yrs old), you're at the worst part of your life for liking computers and geeky stuff. People around you don't know how to deal with anything that doesn't conform, so they are pretty ruthless about people who like different things. It's nothing personal about you. It's insecurity on the part of other people.

If you can hang on a little longer - just long enough to get to University - you will see a total change in the environment around you. That was the first time in my life that anyone around me had any idea of what electronics or programming was. It was magical.

It's a hard thing to hear when you're in the middle of what feels like an endless, miserable slog, but hang in there! University more than makes up for how lousy high school is.

I second cushychicken. Tons of us had similar experiences.

Mine were sometimes rough, sometimes beautiful. More rough though.

It can help if you have any inclination for the performing arts. Music, dance, theater. Many more of those people are accepting of differences and or quirky. I was and value those people and times highly.

But yeah, hang in there. This all does improve.

Edit: I am getting older now. There is another phase! You will eventually find your place among peers and do what you all do and it will be amazing.

Family, work, friends, projects, all of it.

Then, at some point your own grow, and you get to help them, plant seeds. My granddaughter has this spark we are talking of here. And she is young, and I can share, and remember back to when I was young.

My own kids had no real interest, but did learn the basics. Fine. They can do if they need or want to. But this little one in my care now is so damn much fun!

Call it the circle of geek nerd life.

And this all reminds me... are there older mentors you could hang with at times? If so, you should do it. I learned so much and it really helped with the angst. Older people, who I looked up to, saw me as I am and it all being fine, their nudging and teasing more out of me were very good times.

Unsure. It seems that they have Signal installed by default, but not WhatsApp. However, if you install WhatsApp you can make a WhatsApp call directly from the dialer I think?

Exactly. Signal is available as a default however you can choose not to install it.

WhatsApp is shown as an option if you have it installed, the option won't show up if you don't.

The rationale being: We didn't exactly ant to promote WhatsApp but still have it present for those who already use it.

There are tons of devices compatible with LineageOS. I suggest taking a look there. https://lineageos.org/

I'd go a step further and recommend https://grapheneos.org/ with a Pixel phone.

That too! It's restricted to Pixel devices though, and (I'm not 100% sure on this. It at least doesn't include it.) doesn't support things like MicroG which is a must for getting some apps that rely on Play Services to work correctly. I really think Graphene is only good for hardcore privacy and security enthusiasts, or for situations that actually require the security. I guess it just depends on how much convenience you want to sacrifice.

CalyxOS is another option. It's hardened but also has MicroG installed.

Serious question- how can anyone know these operating systems are truly secure? Is there a way to test the source code? From a code perspective could Google have placed a back door in Android to access these forks?

You can compile it from the source code yourself if you want. Realistically speaking there may be a backdoor in closed-source Google Play Services, but not in the open-source AOSP project.