I would not buy a 8gb Macbook in 2016, and I won't be buying one in 2026 either. It's not "privilege" to consider how limited these devices will be in the 2030s. People used the same reasoning when the M1 MBA was announced, and up-speced their models to avoid already obsolete 8gb/256gb configurations.

My parents never gifted me a Macbook Air, I was never tempted to look the gift horse in the mouth. I bought the tools that would do my job, which happens to be a $350 used Thinkpad from Ebay.