Yes, C++ is probably the best and most advanced language that is still efficient enough to run on something as basic as an Uno. After all, 2K ram, 8 bits and 16MHz has not been considered "powerful" since the mid '80s.
Your programmer friends will be used to quad core 3+Ghz 64 bit machines with gigabytes of ram at the very least. In that environment, there are more friendly development languages and IDEs than Arduino/C++, but they would be a complete non-starter for Uno/Mega.
I am the wrong side of 50, but I am in the process of learning a complex new language. It's tough, but also interesting and amazingly powerful and I'm enjoying the experience. It's called Scala and I'm using the IntelliJ IDE. It makes the Arduino IDE look like something from the stone age.
But I still enjoy using the Arduino IDE, C++ and the humble Nano or Attiny. Why? Because it's amazing what performance you can squeeze out of something basic but incredibly efficient, compared to more modern MCUs and computers.