alt Hacker NewsI think you're making it sound like they're forced to build Linux from scratch while walking knee deep in the snow, uphill both ways. That's way too detached from reality and certainly it's not a "tragedy". Kids are not doing specialized things that only have future value, they tinker with everything. Usually on what's available, yes.
>and MacOS has more quality software than any other platform
This is simply untrue, and not something a tinkerer cares about on a general-purpose machine anyway (with my niece and son as n=2).
Windows have also always required a lot of tinkering and trouble shooting to make things work in a pleasant way.
But for Linux, the creative software simply isn't there in many cases for a kid to start learning. Unless it's programming, which is not everybody's talent.
A kid tinkering with any kind of creative software learns and absorbs important skills which they can build on later if they want to. These things are much more valuable than system troubleshooting or becoming skilled in a game.