Kids learn differently now. But they still learn. They may do it by staring at a screen, and it probably won't be as good. But there is definitely still learning involved in using drones, especially if one wants to go beyond the unbox and fly kind.
As for innovation and out of the box thinking to improve something, I see more of that with the drone hobby than I ever have in RC planes. In the 60s and 70s it was absolutely about innovation. But I've had old timers at the club give my models a dirty look because I needed to recover them and deviated from the trim scheme the ARF had. On that same note, I've had guys question why I'd even recover a plane rather than just go buy another one, and some of those were 35 year veterans in the hobby. I fly SPA, which is generally done by accomplished modelers. They will lose their minds over a fuselage being stretched two inches longer or a different airfoil being used on a 40 year old design. But the drone guys are constantly pushing the boundaries, experimenting with different frame designs, new firmware for ESC's, new motor designs, antennas that boost range, you name it. It's different for sure, but I wouldn't say at all that the drone crowd isn't learning and isn't getting creative to push the limits of what can be done. It's quite the opposite really.