The holiday purchasing season is here again; it’s that special month, November, preceding the Yuletide when shopping for the Christmas season goes into overdrive in much of the world, including here in Nigeria. In the next couple of days, Black Friday, the in-store discount sales, will commence across the globe. This would be followed by Cyber Monday, the online retailers’ version of Black Friday. On these days, there are always spending frenzies as holiday shoppers and others take advantage of the huge discounts to stock up or get gifts for themselves and their loved ones.
The press would soon be awash with advertorials from businesses as they try to woo buyers with mouth-watering offers throughout this month, especially on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It is doubtful though if Nigerians would shop much this season considering the harsh economic situation. Inflation is almost 35%, buffeting purchasing power and exerting more financial pressure on Nigerians. Food, utility, transportation, and rent, which have all witnessed significant hikes, account for over 94% of household expenses thus leaving little for savings and other expenses.
While we may not see the typical spending frenzies of past years, this month would still witness an increase in spending levels. The customary shopping list in this period in Nigerian households consists of Christmas decoration items like Christmas trees, wreaths, and ornaments; food and drinks; clothes; gift items like hampers; children’s toys; beauty, health and personal care; household appliances; and shoes.
Think digital gifts for the children this season
For parents, this is a good time to buy worthy and life-defining toys or gifts for your children as Christmas gifts. Gifts at any time show that you love and care for a person. For our children, it creates that special bond and filial love. The love for our children transcends the superficial; we desire to see them grow and become successful. The little things we do now, the love, care, attention, guidance, and gifts, add up to shape the children’s future. As we go shopping this season, we should be deliberate in picking practical digital-related gifts that will unlock our children’s creative and critical thinking abilities. A gift that will help them unlock digital possibilities.
Why digital-related gifts?
The world is transforming very rapidly into a fully digital one. Over the next decade, according to the World Economic Forum, two in every three or 70% of new value created “will be based on digitally-enabled platform business models.” If the world is going digital, the smart move would be to prepare our children for that world. Today, forward-thinking primary and secondary schools in the country offer coding classes. Beyond coding in schools, many parents enrol their children in coding centres or engage private IT tutors to teach them coding at home. This was not the case some 10 years ago. So, why this sudden love for coding?
Read also: Preparing children to succeed- one long holiday at a time
It is the future; technology will drive everything from healthcare, housing, education, business, governance, leadership, management, relationships, politics, religion, entertainment, lifestyle, and policies. To participate effectively in the future society, one must have access to and understand how to use available technologies. Figures by DataReportal, an online global reference library, showed that as of October 2024, about 68% or 5.52 billion of the world’s population use the internet. Transforma Insights, a Digital Transformation (DX) research firm, predicted that by 2033 global Internet of Things (IoT – smart everyday devices/appliances) connections would reach 40 billion. So, it is clear where the future is headed. Those who would lead that digital world tomorrow must be digitally savvy. And starting the digital journey early gives a world of advantages.
Preparing our children for tomorrow’s society requires exposing them early to digital experiences through education, training, and practical tech objects or gifts that will pique their interest in technology. The digital world will not be driven only by science students; it is for everybody: arts, social science, and science students.
My life-transforming early exposure to computer
My experience has shown me the value of practical gifts to children. I never get tired of sharing this experience because of how it completely transformed my world. My uncle, who lived abroad then, on one of his visits to Nigeria, gifted me a used laptop. Laptops were a rarity then and yet here I was a young schoolboy with a laptop. Oh! I felt like I was floating on air and grew 12 inches taller. In hindsight, that gift was worth more than a handful of diamonds.
The laptop ignited my passion for innovation and problem-solving and opened the world of endless possibilities as I manipulated MS Word, Excel, and graphic designs. That seemingly inconsequential but practical gift opened the world to me enabling me to train in some of the best schools in the world, share tables with world leaders, and institute some profound socially relevant initiatives.
Elvis Chidera: the young Nigerian programming genius
Elvis Chidera is a young globally acclaimed Nigerian programmer who started his programming journey at 11. We share similarities in that a small practical gift of Nokia 2690, a feature phone, transformed his world and turned him into a global sensation. Chidera has developed numerous apps, worked for an MIT startup, and has been featured on CNN. “I was lucky that a relative had gifted me a feature phone (Nokia 2690). This phone changed my life. It’s what I used to develop Xmx Me, my failed social network, and several other projects,” Chidera wrote. “Growing up, I spent a lot of time online as I loved downloading games and reading Society Of Robots.” Chidera loved games and he turned that into a worthwhile venture.
Make that gift count this season
The digital world is so vast and such an awesome place that no matter how unlike me or Chidera you think your children might be, there is always something positive that will pique their interest online. Find that thing and build on it.
There are numerous fun digital gifts that you can get for your children, nieces, and nephews this season that could be the nudge required to journey into the brand-new world of digital possibilities. From handheld electronic memory games, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) kits, and remote control devices, to mechanical robot coding kits, drawing projectors, magnetic marble run, gravity maze marble run, starter DIY kits, and books there are hundreds of such practical gifts to choose from. And you don’t need to go overboard to get some of these gifts. As we take advantage of this year’s Christmas shopping season, gift your children their gateway to the digital world and turn them into tech actors.
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