I'm also a middle aged programmer and I don't think parent's observation is really about age per se.

Rather: we of a certain age grew up in a world before the optimized dopamine reward cycle of social media, and when the news / politics / outrage loops were far less potent. We could focus more because... well... we weren't being distracted to death.

Maintaining deep focus in the face of this onslaught is a skill I feel like people of all ages need to curate.