axiomattik

Strikes me as a fallacy that in order for something to be meaningful it must persist. Meaning can exist and perish in a moment.

On the other hand it is admirable that OP turned towards his own ignorance with an attitude of acceptance for the sake of improving his own knowledge. Too many people assume their own expertise and don't return to the fundamentals often enough.

Also in the UK and I've just opted to flat-out refuse to use WhatsApp. I think a lot of people want to stop using WhatsApp but are afraid to do so because of the imagined repercussions or a fear of missing out. I say to hell with that and I've found that, since there are, in fact, plenty of alternatives that work, people who need to communicate with me are able to do so perfectly well. A few non-tech oriented contacts have even installed Signal as a result of my stubbornness, including my landlord funnily enough.

I'd argue this is a lie and not an example of gaslighting.

A lie is simply stating something that is not true. In this case, stating that HTML5 is synonymous to PWAs.

Gaslighting is an attempt to undermine an individual's (or perhaps even a group's) certainty that they are able to perceive reality correctly. It's essentially an effort to make someone question their own sanity. Lying is a tool that may be used as part of this effort, but it is not the only method of gaslighting.

It's also possible to lie without gaslighting. Speaking mis-truths may happen accidentally. But trying to cause someone to believe something that isn't true, isn't necessarily or inherently an attack on their trust in their own ability to perceive the world.

In this case, I can't see any indication that the goal is to cause anyone to feel insane.