Any speculative market can be a gamble. The point lies in whether you are letting it mess up your life or handling your money properly. Most people cannot do the second one and hence people around them get a negative impression about that speculative market.

While the affects the older population more, once it has happened, it is close to impossible to revert this mindset back to a non-biased state even for the younger population.

I would say, let them do as they wish. If someone does not like crypto, they would never enjoy investing in it.