Why Coding & Designing Are Important For Teenagers

There was a time when technology was consumed on need basis, and often limited to certain areas of professional work. Kids and teenagers were hardly exposed to any kind of technology and innovations. However, the emergence of the smartphone era has brought about an unprecedented technological evolution. Today, there are desktop and mobile phone native apps for almost every purpose. The post-pandemic compulsion of digital education has further necessitated that all the kids and teenagers are adequately exposed to apps. With such a proliferation of apps, parents need to focus on integrating the right career skills in their children’s learning paths from an early age. That’s why coding and design led courses are important for kids and teenagers. Depending upon the age group, there are several coding and design courses for kids and teenagers to prep them for the professional world of tomorrow.  

The essential nature acquired by coding and design in the learning curve for kids and teenagers has also led to a surge in the number of courses on offer that teach coding and design to children across age groups. At times, it can be a challenge even for the parents to determine which is the right course offering for teenagers or young kids. To make the right choice, one needs to focus on finding student-centric and outcome-based coding and design courses. These are courses that don’t just familiarise kids with the basics and help them to develop games, applications and webpages, but also helps them to comprehend complex aspects such as programming languages, 2D and 3D Animation which futher enables them to incorporate real-time learning and exposure to projects that will be useful in solving the practical needs of our times.  

Designers and coders are laying the foundation for a digital India.

Digital India has become a clarion call alongside an emphasis on home-grown technologies, SaaS and other IT services. Therefore, irrespective of the field your kids choose in future, they would be required to handle technology. That’s where it is critical to ensure learning of coding and designing for kids or teenagers alike.  

Industry experts predict that there are going to be over 80 million professional coding or programming jobs by 2028 which further substantiates the need to learn coding for teenagers who are set to enter the world of employment within next 4-5 years.  

Irrespective of the apprehensions related to the modules, the fears that courses like these are leading to a pre-mature technology exposure is unfounded. If this exposure is delayed any further then we might lead the youngsters to a scenario where they find themselves devoid of the right professional skills. Thus, they would struggle to land the right jobs, and no parent would want such a scenario for their kids. This is also the reason why reforms related to integration of coding for kids were introduced within the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. For India to grow as an economic superpower and our children to have a bright future, expertise across domains such as coding and designing is as essential as any other skill for them.

Coding as a pillar of success for the younger generation

- Timely exposure to coding and design thinking enables young children to better comprehend their surroundings, the real-world activities, and their own personas. Thus, by choosing coding for kids, parents can empower their children to become technology-proficient creators unlike most of the current workforce that only consumes technology 

- By learning coding and design related concepts during their school years, children can develop logical thinking, and ability to develop algorithmic solutions to problems in a data-driven manner. From logistics, to financial management, communication to routine life challenges, the possibilities are nearly endless for kids that master these programming skills

Adequate exposure to coding and design related courses inspire youngsters to apply their learning to solve real-world problems and transforms them from consumers of technology to creators of technology

With skillsets such as coding and designing becoming integral to two-thirds of all available jobs in business leadership, technology, healthcare and other such domains, it is a natural progression to encourage kids to opt for such courses. In the previous generation, kids used to get exposure to computers and programming when they were in late teens or upon entering the professional world. Today, an average one year old gets his/her first exposure to smartphone and by the age of six, most urban kids have had their first brush with computers and technology. In such a scenario, it is not FOMO, but the need to impart a core professional survival skill that necessitates teenagers and young kids learn concepts around coding and design from an early age.  

Rishi Khemka

Guest Author With his passion for technology and his belief in the need to use it effectively in education, Rishi launched MindBox, a holistic creative education company. In his current role as Chief Enjoyment Officer and Director of ARK Infosolutions/ MindBox, Rishi has spear-headed interesting initiatives like starting India’s first design championship for students, which encourages them to think out of the box and showcase their talent. He also initiated ‘GameJam Titans’, a game development competition in collaboration with NASSCOM Gaming Forum. Rishi was ranked among Top 100 Most Important Media & Entertainment People in India by Digital Media Magazine 2014. This year Rethink India has felicitated him as the eduTech Leader of India in 2017.