does anyone here play? yeaaahhh most of us hahha. and to answer your question, it can be both easy and hard to learn. you just have to be very dedicated. you cant just do it in your spare time or you wont get anywhere.
you dont HAVE to go get lessons but they are the best way to get good fast. i taught myself and it took me 2 years before coming across a cool website like this where i got all of my scales, tricks, and other stuff down.
so if you dont want to spend 2+ years trying to teach yourself, more power to you. if you want to learn fast and well, get yoursel' a teacher.

i mean, if you have dedication and you keep working at it no matter how hard it hurts, you can pick it up real easy.

as for acoustic vs. electric, its my firm belief you should learn acoustic, then go electric. now electric is muchhh easyer to play and alot less painfull, but acoustic is a very good way to start.

hope this helps at all. good luck bud.