How To Get The iPhone Generation To Give Real Cameras & Vintage Lenses A Try?

[Bill De Jager]

A digital capture can be planned and performed with commitment equal or better than any film-based image. It's all about the approach and envisioning of the outcome, not the medium used to implement it.

I think the main goal by the thread starter was to get younger people to use a "real" camera instead of a phone. The main goal was not to have the younger people to use the film media?

Absolutely to both.  That's why I referred to "older techniques", which could include using manual focus lenses on an interchangeable-lens digital camera rather than using a mobile phone camera... or could even mean learning a film camera.  Either way it's a matter of crafting a photo using a dedicated (and likely at least somewhat bulky) device rather than taking a snapshot with no work in post, using a convenient pocket device you'd have on your person in any case.

[Anthony]

In the olden days most people took crappy snapshots on crummy cameras which were developed by badly calibrated machines to produce low grade prints which faded in a few years.

Now most people take sharp and well exposed snapshots on state of the art camera phones which are turned into decent grade digital images by smart computer programs and which stay at the same quality for as long as anyone has lived.

Why would anyone want to go back to the olden days?

And a small number of enthusiasts, eg people like us, have more opportunity to create images exactly how we want them, and to enjoy and share them than ever before.

Why would anyone ever want to go back to the olden days?

[MEPER]

Now when you can show images at large 55" or alike screens film gets more and more outdated. Maybe if you shoot 4 x 5 or 8 x 10 to produce very large prints film still has something to offer.
But still it is hard to get young people interested in using real modern cameras. They use their smartphones. Even many adults don't  like to carry equipment when they travel and they don't like to switch lenses. I guess more than 99% of images shot today are with smartphones. It could be interesting to get the real numbers. But try to look at the camera technology at top phones today like this:

https://consumer.huawei.com/en/phones/p40-pro/

It is very advanced and I was surprised by the large sensor they can fit in it today and be able to expose this sensor with those tiny lenses. Phones today has the advantage to have massive computer power to make all kind of image processing. I would think that the computer power in such phones are more powerful than the ones in our Nikon cameras......but that it just a guess. The Nikon computer power is probably more dedicated to image processing……but who knows….

[pluton]

It's gotta come from them.
The young person in question has to have their own questions and desire to create photos that cannot be created with smartphones.  The best you could do is expose them to photographic art that was created with larger sensors or film sizes, and see if they are interested. 
Even if they were to get enthusiastic about the classic photo looks of HCB or Irving Penn or Salgado, they might want to try emulating the characteristics of those styles using digital processing rather than film, developing, printing, interchangeable lenses, etc.