Since the 1980s, educational policies in many countries have aimed at improving
the computer literacy and programming competencies of the population. Over the same
period, the possibilities that people have seen regarding programming and everyday
programming practices have emerged as an area of strong interest within historical
scholarship. The paper contributes to these discussions by drawing on techniques of oral
history to focus on programming hobbies and practices in Finland. Examining data from a
massive survey of computer hobbyists (N = 1,453) and their recollections about personal
computer use (largely during the 1980s), the paper gathers new information on what leads
to people’s pursuit of or interest in programming and how their programming habits have
changed over time. The study links together the gender and age dynamics in programming
and shows how the respondents not only engaged with but also could become disengaged
from programming for various reasons.peerReviewe