Computer

• Type: Muggle Technology
• Owners: Muggles
• Maker: Muggles

A computer is an electronic device used by Muggles for a vast range of tasks, including calculation, data storage, communication, and entertainment. In the non-magical world, they became increasingly common during the 1990s, the time period in which the Harry Potter series is set. The prevalence of computers in the Muggle world is shown through Dudley Dursley, who receives one as a birthday present in 1991, which he later discards in a tantrum. He receives subsequent computers and other electronic devices in later years, keeping them in his second bedroom at Number Four, Privet Drive. This illustrates that computers are a standard, if somewhat luxurious, household item for a well-off Muggle family of the era.

The wizarding world almost entirely forgoes the use of computers and most other forms of complex Muggle technology. The vast majority of witches and wizards have little to no understanding of how a computer functions, much like Arthur Weasley's ignorance regarding the function of a rubber duck or his fascination with “eckeltricity”. The primary reason for the absence of computers in magical locations is a fundamental incompatibility between magic and electricity. As Hermione Granger explains, high concentrations of ambient magic, such as those found at Hogwarts Castle, cause Muggle technological devices like computers to malfunction. She notes that “all those substitutes for magic Muggles use—electricity, and computers and things—they go haywire around Hogwarts. There’s too much magic in the air.” This information is likely sourced from her reading of books like ` A History`. Wizards have no practical need for computers, as their society has developed magical alternatives for most of a computer's key functions:

• Communication: Instead of email, wizards use the Owl Post, the Floo Network, Patronus messages, or enchanted objects like two-way mirrors.
• Information Storage and Research: The wizarding world relies on an extensive collection of books, scrolls, and magical records. Memories themselves can be stored and reviewed in a Pensieve.
• Entertainment: Wizards have Wizarding Wireless Network radio, Gobstones, Exploding Snap, and Quidditch for recreation.

The computer's primary role in the narrative is to highlight the profound separation between the Muggle and wizarding world. It serves as a key example of the technological divide and underscores the self-sufficiency of magical society. The fact that magic disrupts technology reinforces the idea that the wizarding world operates on an entirely different set of physical and metaphysical laws. Furthermore, Dudley Dursley's obsession with his computer and television contrasts sharply with Harry Potter's life, which is filled with ancient magic, parchment, and quills. This contrast emphasizes the different values and ways of life in the two worlds that Harry straddles.

• On the Pottermore website, J.K. Rowling elaborated on the relationship between magic and technology. She confirmed that a wizard would not be able to use a computer in the vicinity of Hogwarts. She also noted that the wizarding community does not feel a strong need for such devices, as they have magical means to achieve similar results. (Pottermore)
• Rowling also pointed out that while wizards shun most Muggle inventions, they have occasionally adopted and modified them for their own use, such as the Hogwarts Express (a steam train) and the Ford Anglia owned by Arthur Weasley. (Pottermore)