When most people here the word linux they think of hackers in hoodies typing 150 words per minute in a terminal, but linux is as user friendly on the desktop as Windows or Mac. You can open multiple terminals and do absolute magic if you want to, but you can also use a graphical desktop just as you would on Windows or Mac. You also have many desktops and distributions to choose from.
With linux, you can also download a distribution, create a bootable thumb drive and try it out on your computer without installing it or making any changes to your computer. If you like it and it runs well on your computer you can install it and most distributions will detect your windows and configure it so you can boot into windows or linux.
Personally I think it is much more scary to see a BSOD. In Windows if your computer will not boot you have few options but to try to repair it. In linux, if your system will not boot you can just boot off of usb, mount your drive, get your work done and fix the issue later. Actually you can do this with windows too, so it is very usefull to have a bootable linux thumbdrive on hand in case of emergency if you run Windows.
I am getting into the weeds a little bit but I hope this makes linux less scary.
Here are a few of the benefits of linux
- Free - Not just free but open source. You can modify it and run it on as many machines as you like.
- Choice - There are multiple distributions and desktops and filesystems to choose from.
- Secure - Linux designed as a multi-user system so the permission system is more secure.
- Privacy - Most distributions do not collect information about you and if they do you can useally easily opt out.
- Updates - Most distributions only update when you tell them to and you do not have to reboot. You can upgrade your computer while you work.