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Comment by Ygg2 | Hacker News Reader

Probably nothing.

More likely marketing computer as boy/nerd toy is what caused a shift.

I cannot stand this argument, it holds no water. Or rather as much water as the famous FSM graph linking number of pirates to global warming.

I was interested in computers since early teens, without even seeing one in person, just reading in magazines. I've got a real opportunity to spend some time with them only in university, and the same applies to my classmates. So no one was given computer as a gift/toy, no one saw any ads for them. Guess who got interested in programming and who did not.

Why is that likely?

I said more likely, but why is that more likely? Because huge shift in public opinion are from my experience, most likely made by marketing agencies.

Also ads like these: http://howtonotsuckatgamedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/...

Certainly a horrible ad. But it is for buying a machine. If such ads were the culprit, women shouldn't be driving cars either? I don't know what the ads were like at the time, but I am pretty sure they made similar ads for cars. Also not sure what kind of ads were targeted at women. It's pretty common to this day, although cheap, to just mix a random product with the claim "will make you more attractive to the opposite sex".

Wasn't it also the case that at first operating computers was deemed a task for secretaries, and then the perception changed?

I suppose they could have shown ads of secretaries being loved by their bosses because they work so efficiently thanks to their shiny new computers.

Edit: http://www.macmothership.com/gallery/MiscAds/AdamAd.JPG - women should just have used Macs?

Cars != computers.

Cars are a means of transportation and much more of a requirement to live in urban environment than a computer.

There are quite a few massive cities in wealthy countries where a significant number of people choose not to drive even though they can afford it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_with_most_...

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