Ah yes, the 80s, when everyone had a computer.
replyWell, yeah. The home computer revolution.
replyLiterally everyone had a ZX Spectrum, or Commodore 64, or a BBC Micro if their parents were rich and thought that having the same as they had at school was a good idea.
If you change "literally everyone" to "a minority" we can agree.
replyWell, no, because it wasn't a minority.
replyThey were cheap and ubiquitous, unless I suppose you were in one of "Iron Curtain" countries.
A quick google query says 15% of US households own a personal computer in 1989.
replyOkay, well, it was far more than that in the UK and Europe.
replyI suppose it's a bit like television, it would have been more popular where it was invented.
Around 5 million ZX Spectrums were sold between 1982 and 1992. If all were sold in the UK (they weren’t), that would put the penetration around 25% based on the number of households in 1990.
replyOne specific model of ZX Spectrum, which is one specific make and model of home computer.
replyDid you live in the UK in the 1980s?
Asking chatgpt, in UK in late 80s, it would be 20-25% across all computers, depending on definition of "computer". A 1/4 of households is still high. It may have been higher in your neck of the woods.
reply> Did you live in the UK in the 1980s?
replyYes.
> One specific model of ZX Spectrum
I do not believe this to be the case, that number appears to include the 128K and the Amstrad variants also.
My house did not have a computer in it until 1992. I knew many people who did not have a computer in the house in the 1980s. Computers were expensive!
replyEven in the early 80s they were 100 quid, that was nothing.
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