I am wondering if the amount of home computers have actually decreased in the last decade.

Some people mentioned new high school graduates have barely touched a pc and that makes it difficult when they join the typical office environment

I always assumed everyone owned a laptop or pc these days (If you have the means)

42 comments

  2. 2 desktops. One partner set up for me when we started dating, second he brought when he moved in. Plus my laptop

  5. I assumed everyone had a pc or laptop because most people around my age have one to use as or instead of a tv lol

  6. 2 desktops for me and the Mrs

    2 phones for me and the Mrs

    1 tablet

    1 laptop

    All of them get a fair bit of use.

  7. Laptop hooked to the TV as a media server, little laptop for general browsing, a smattering of games consoles. Alexa show and a fire cube.

    My dad was a hoarder with a gadget fetish and I inherited a few of that lot from clearing his junk when he went into care. There’s three other laptops he was never going to use in a cupboard somewhere. Overabundance is the word.

    Oh and we all have phones that we use more than everything else ombined.

  8. I used to make a bit of side money fixing broke computers, I haven’t done any of that for a few years. All the casual users seem to have phones and tablets now. Don’t even see many actual computers in Currys these days either.

  9. I have a gaming laptop and a computer, gaming laptop is many years old though and hasn’t worked properly since I dropped flat pack furniture on it.

  10. We have a PC tower set up plus various laptops and Chromebooks, most are in the laptop graveyard. We are old though, heading fast for 60 and have had recreational home PCs since 2000.

  12. I work with young people and I was honestly amazed at how few had ever even touched a Windows computer! Even in school now they’re using iPads for lessons, rather than desktop PCs or laptops.

    Basic tasks such as formatting documents, using spreadsheets, etc have all fallen by the wayside in favour of simplistic features on tablets.

    Really difficult for them when looking for work, even just writing a CV takes time as they’re learning the software AND how to write effectively.

  13. I have a laptop, but now you say it I only really use it for work. The rest of the time I do what I need to on my phone.

  14. Phone, iPad, laptop and work laptop. My laptop mainly gets used for stuff that is too fiddly on a iPad, such as updating my cv and doing job applications and the like. Anything when I have to do a lot of typing.

  15. There’s stuff i can’t manage on a tablet or phone although i bought a keyboard for the tablet to see if that would make it easier.

  17. I have a laptop for anything work related specifically estimates.

    Everything else is done by phone

  19. I’ve got my desktop, a general 2-in-1 laptop, a laptop for diag tools, ipad and phone, and 3-4 spare laptops in storage. Perks of not buying new and getting things cheap off eBay or open box.

    I also forget I have a home server too with my networking gear.

  20. Geeky household, so we’ve all got a desktop each, plus spouse and I have three laptops for work.

    The kids had tablets when they were younger but liked playing Minecraft, which is better on PCs than the Xbox. Youngest learnt to read, write and type to play it age 3 or so – had to type the password on a keyboard which had half the letters missing. I kept her entertained for ages when I had flu: “the password is ridiculouslylongphrasenonotthisone. R is between E and T.” She managed.to keep running up and down stairs asking for the next letter and eventually logged in. Then we had months of her spawning animals and asking how to spell their names.

    Mostly we use phones and the kids have a 3DS etc, but lots of desktop use. But I’ve noticed, helping the 15yo with work, they know nothing of file structures, types, what memory is, how networks work. They’re getting the hang of shortcuts in LibreOffice and GIMP, though.

    A couple years ago I was shocked when our roofer asked for help writing a CV. He’d be about 35 now, but he’d never typed anything since leaving school at 16. Had no idea how to use Word.

  21. Myself and my wife have work laptops, I think we may have a couple of old work laptops floating around somewhere too. In addition to that iPads for each of us, the kids have hand me down iPads they use too.

  22. My other half has a desktop which they’ve had since university. I have an old laptop that I had at uni which I rarely use as it’s really slow nowadays. I have a tablet which does most things I need it too. If there’s a programme I need that my tablet doesn’t have then I revert to my laptop if that has it or I borrow my partners computer. If I’m doing job applications then I might take my laptop or tablet to where the computer is. I tend to find the job description and have it on the desktop computer screen and then type up my CV and application on my laptop or tablet.

    My other half uses his PC for gaming, watching YouTube, emails and other documents associated with his voluntary work as well as browsing Amazon/eBay.

    We mainly browse Reddit on our phones but I also browse Reddit on my tablet.

  26. My boyfriend has a desktop – he’s a gamer and works in IT, so likes the power that it provides. We both also have work laptops, and I have s personal one too… some things are just more difficult on touch screens

  27. Always had a computer, always. Was born in the 80s and I always remember a PC being around. I remember my father having big, bulky laptops for work and once me and my sister discovered gaming, our house had at least 2 PCs at any given time, plus laptops, palm pilots, consoles, etc. But I never used the TV and never owned a TV til my current partner moved in with me 10 years ago.

    I have never lived anywhere where I haven’t had a PC hooked up in my room since I was 11 when i started high school and i’m close to 40 now. And most nights when I’m not out, I spend sat at my PC and have done for over 30 years. I can easily just sit at my computer for 10 hours a day and be fully entertained, with or without internet.

    I’ve never owned a laptop as I didn’t want to cheap out on something, so at university I did hand written notes and Dictaphone to transcribe later.

    At the moment, my house has 1 big PC, 3 actively used consoles, Ipad, 2 generic tablets and 2 smart phones ready to use at any given time.

    When I met my partner 12 years ago, I was shaken by the fact that their family household had zero computers, zero laptops, zero internet connection and his only connection to the outside world was a phone with no roaming data that he would use the internet at work or at the pub to connect to. Felt like going back to the 1920s.

  29. I have a home laptop and tablet and a work laptop. Definitely figure when the home laptop dies I’ll just use the work one at home.

  30. I own a desktop PC, don’t have a laptop or a tablet (There’s a laptop in the house but it’s only for work and I technically don’t own it). I have a cheap, second hand phone that I use for WhatsApp/calls. Pretty much everything else I do on the PC.

    My partner on the other hand never uses the PC. She does literally everything on her phone. I’d find that stressful.

  33. A phone each and a tablet used as a satnav/media player in our campervan.
    If we need more real estate we just cast a phone to the TV.

  35. I have a gaming PC set up, a personal Macbook laptop, a laptop supplied by my employer so I can work from home, and my phone.

  36. Typing this on my PC right now. Can’t imagine having a house/flat without some kind of PC personally, I use it for so many different things

  37. I was born in 1987, I built my first PC in the late ninties when I was about ten.

    I can’t imagine not having a PC in the house, and a printer.

    It would be like not having a fridge.

  38. I know through some research at work that about 70% of our web traffic is through mobile devices, and a further 15-20% through tablet. Only about 10% of traffic comes from desktop or laptop, which blows my mind as I can’t stand doing anything remotely serious via mobile.

  39. When my son was in primary school we were told by a teacher that kids are growing up without knowing how to use a computer, so we ended up buying one for him (and one for his sister when she was old enough) so he could familiarise himself with it.

    Anecdotally, I find that lots of people at work in their twenties aren’t very computer literate because they’re more used to smartphones and apps. I thought this was going to die out with the older generation, but there’s a cut-off point which is somewhere around the age of 30 for how well someone can navigate around a computer and know the likes of shortcuts.

  40. Computer usage has been on the decline for the last decade. Compared to say 2009, when almost every household had a computer, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s less than half of all households now.

    When the Covid pandemic began, our team had a meeting in the office to discuss the logistics of transitioning to working from home. Out of my entire team of around 30 people, when asked for a show of hands regarding who has their own computer and won’t need a company laptop, I was the only one who raised my hand.

    The vast majority of people, especially younger people now, use their smart televisions for streaming, their Xbox or Playstation for gaming, and their phones for social media. Computer literacy and widespread PC ownership seems to have been a flash in the pan for Gen X and Millennials. Most of the people I encounter who own their own computer tend to be 30-60 years old.

  41. My wife is a teacher and in her opinion there’s been a noticeable shift in IT literacy among high school pupils. Not so long ago the kids would be better at the teachers when it came to using a PC. No longer the case and it’s very common for pupils to struggle with really basic concepts like file management. I suspect this is the reason. Most people don’t need or want a traditional “computer” any more. Kids these days are using devices designed to work absolutely intuitively straight out of the box. It’s folk in their 30s and 40s that are in the sweet spot for navigating a PC. The folk who grew up having to learn to install and troubleshoot illegal software nabbed off P2P platforms and the like. Or even grew up with systems that didn’t run Windows which required them to understand a bit about operating system architecture. Them and the proper gaming nerd kids.

  42. Computers. Big screens (HD or 4k) proper keyboards, mice, trackballs, major league processing power, upgradability, 10 year life, what’s not to like?

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