I really hope that everybody is right and that it will be made easy for people. I am an oddity in that I seem to like doing things the hard way. I am not "computer illiterate", but I am far from comfortable. I can still recall doing the .bat files and playing with all of the settings and taking hours to update drivers, downgrade drivers, play with the numerous settings and finally feeling that I accomplished something (my hash rate for my card was at the top end of the estimates based on others.) Now it is copy and paste and the pool writes it all for you. I have fun playing with these things, but know that most people would not.
As I mentioned, I lurk here occasionally. I read another forum on litecoin occasionally. I look at tradeblock and the occasional blog. With that said, I really do not know much about what is coming for security or user friendliness. I hope that bitcoin (and litcoin because that is what I have mined) find some acceptance. I think the next generation may be more comfortable- but I know plenty of people over 40 who do not even trust online banking (they will steal my identity...) I cannot imagine them downloading something opensource for financials (if Microsoft does not approve it, it must be untrustworthy... Right?)
-First, you need money to make money. It is hard to imagine a world where the majority of the citizens will adopt this currency. In the first world we can mine it if we invest a few thousand in hardware and some electricity... most of the world's citizens cannot say the same. What reason would a person in N. Korea have to drop $600 on one bitcoin that requires a computer rather than 30 ounces of silver?
Well, N.Korea is a rather strange example - they do not have 600$ laying around unless perhaps they are a government official. People buy stocks of higher prices than 600$ in the first world, I would not be surprised.
We have got tons of kids using things like dogecoin. I think it is without a question that we will have an internet currency. People want fast and easy - have you ever tried to buy an App on a mobile phone? The number of forms to complete is simply not a model that will sustain.
I know N.Korea was an odd example... but I was racking my brain for countries with lots of poor (I can now think of several... but as mentioned- it is past my bedtime and my mind was not functioning at the highest level.)
I really hope you are correct about it's adoption. I would have to agree with you if you are saying that our hope lies in the next generation. They will be more computer literate and have less hang-ups about technology than earlier generations. The question then becomes "how long until digital currencies are accepted and adopted?" I know things move fast- but I still have to say decades in the first world and many more decades before it is accepted world wide (and that assumes that we do not just end up with a model of fiat currencies being completely converted to "digital only" and accepted.) The only reason why kids of today would not accept that model is if they take the time to educate themselves on the history and problems of fiat. Most people do not care. As long as a dollar today buys a chocolate bar while they are being paid $10 / hour they do not care that in a decade it will be $2 as long as they are making $20 /hour. we all think that we are richer than any time in history right now... What do they care if there are only 21 million bitcoins or if you cannot print them out of thin air... They can buy that chocolate bar right now (or video game, or car or house or even a pony for their birthday) all using the worlds favourite paper, the universally accepted greenback.