This is how most people in their forties/fifties and over are completely lost in the digital world (especially in France). Companies do not protect their data and are easy prey for all hackers and individuals alike. So of course individuals know how to do bullshit on social networks, but there are many problems that persist and are here to stay for a long time.
Cybersecurity is an area that has really been left behind. Insufficient passwords, risky clicks on anything and so on.
In this environment where everyone learns what they can, no matter how and often quite badly, we can imagine that bitcoin is part of another world. When, however, a person wishes to hold bitcoin despite everything, the sum of the accumulated shortcomings is such that she/he becomes the ideal victim for all hackers.
If this person is not disgusted after a bitcoin hack or crash, he/she must face:
- New words that correspond to unfamiliar concepts.
- Tons of cybersecurity tips (mail protection, 2FA etc...)
- An anxiety-provoking environment that talks about hackers all over the place.
- Tools such as hardware wallets which seem complicated when some people already have trouble using a computer.
So in this context, it's no surprise that beginners prefer to leave their bitcoins on CEX, because they have less to learn in one go, just managing a password and 2FA, (and don't always use that). The stress engendered by bankruptcies such as those of FTX or the oft-repeated phrase "Not your BTC, not your coins" can indeed discourage more than one.
Moreover, in 'developed' societies of permanent recipients where people are no longer really self-taught (perhaps lack of time, intellectual laziness, lack of self-confidence, etc.), the idea of being oneself accountable for their funds, with no customer service and no one to complain to is hardly/no longer an option.
It takes time to read and to learn, every day I learn something and when I look back over the years I have the impression of having naively walked on a minefield.
I take this opportunity to thank the people who really know much much more than me for never having been condescending by my sometimes simple (or simplistic?) questions, whereas IRL in France in particular asking a question is sometimes considered as a sign of stupidity (which is quite the opposite I think. I'm not ashamed to say I don't know or I don't understand).
That's why newbies prefer CEX in my opinion because they feel safer and at least in a more familiar environment like their banking app (!).
Personally, I must have taken at least 3 years to connect a Ledger, being discouraged in advance and because I didn't really have time to understand how it worked. (In the end it was much simpler than I had thought.)
The more I learn, the more questions I have and I tell myself that I would never have gone around the question. Fortunately, my children are older and I therefore have a little more time to learn, but the path still seems very, very long. I have lots of notebooks to put notes on to look at later, but I have so many notes...
I dropped CEX after trying lots of them mostly to see what they looked like, I never traded because it's a job and I'm not interested in it, I had shitcoins which no longer exist (but for which I had only invested a few euros), I don't understand anything about DEFI and NFT for me, it's a bit like fashion week, not very interesting either.
I ended up changing shitcoins into btc and putting that on a hardware wallet (but not the ledger whose interface I don't like). Finally I applied the maxim "not your keys, not your coins"). Maybe that's the beginner's path after all? Going slowly towards this goal, without being too greedy or too naive and doing things at your own pace (I'm particularly slow I think...)
On newbies who left their coins i may add that, its not that they have less knowledge or experience some people wants it in a non complicated way, that is why they put their money on an exchange easy to access without knowing the risk of it, also they are afraid since there are some who gave a wrong links and think their funds will be hack or lost.
They maybe also don't know how to use other wallets at the moment but as time goes they learn other things on the process.
I think the best way for this newbies is to to teach them first how to use wallets , securing things , before teaching them to use CEX,
This is what I do when a friend wants to invest in crypto teach them how to secure and learn precautions before anything else.