Steve Firth and the web
Now 33 years old I have seen computers evolve from an expensive (and fairly useless) idea to a practical reality, it doesn't matter if you're a 'computer person' or not … they have a far reaching effect on your life.
I remember as a kid marvelling that 2 people could play tennis on the first consoles, all be it with 2 blocks hiting a square about. Now I can play with millions of other people potentially from anywhere in the world, wether it's a game of cards or huge battle in a full 3d environment complete with waterfalls and wildlife.
The internet and computing can be quite daunting, especially if you have no one to guide you. Having learnt pretty much everything first hand and usually without the help of a book, I have been in the same position and have since taught myself about a wide range of inter–related topics spaning not just webdesign but; search engines, networking, compression, hacking, spyware etc.
Setting up an email box can be a nightmare at first, after you've done 100 you can do it in your sleep … it's all relative.