Many of us in the technology space might know about the small computers called Raspberry Pi. These are very small, card-sized Single-Board computers using ARM processors.
Now, you might wonder why such a small computer would be so important not only for the developers. Well, there are a few factors that I will touch upon in this article including my own experience with those devices.
- The price in this economy;
- The impact on young people;
- and how it can help the UK.
Also, I will say it from now that this article will mainly cover the UK but can be applied in more regions probably.
The Price
Firstly, let’s talk about the most obvious thing about these computers. They are really cheap! We are talking about £35 for a Raspberry Pi 4 and a bit higher £60 for the newest Raspberry Pi 5. This is a great thing because it allows to explore multiple possibilities with it not worrying about braking a really expensive computer especially nowadays when there is a cost of living crisis in the UK. Many people don’t even know that they can buy such a low-priced computer for someone dear which would allow them to tinker and experiment with both hardware and software so much!
For me, the first Raspberry Pi that I had was the main reason why I really started having an interest into tech by making things such as websites and programs, looking at hosting my own password manager and actually managing computers using SSH and so much more! That Raspberry Pi 3B+ is still running to this day, 3 to 4 years later!
Using a Raspberry Pi helped me get an understanding of Linux which is commonly used on servers around the world, installing Docker and running instances of Nextcloud, UptimeKuma, Bitwarden and learning even the physical stuff such as how the Raspberry Pi is actually working and how servers run so reliably. The worst case scenario was that I had to start all over again because I might’ve corrupted something on the SD card.
Impact on young people
And as you might expect, I do personally think that having that Raspberry Pi really helped me to recognize what I really wanted to do as a career. Before putting countless hours into tinkering with a computer such as this one, I was really unsure what I wanted to do especially that I was getting closer on going to college or 6th Form so I had to decide what I want to do.
My parents bought it for me when I was in year 9, not really playing with it that much because I was worried I was going to break it even though I told them I want one but then in year 10, I started looking more into it and started to get fascinated by how the even bigger things such as the internet or computers in general work and even more into programming in C++ and Python.
Even last year when Jeff Geerling went on a tour of the Raspberry Pi factory in Wales, I was so fascinated and I loved seeing the process of making those really small but powerful computers! I will link it if anyone is interested:
I think there are way more young people that can use Raspberry Pi computers (or similar) in order to really discover what they want to do! Not just what I did of managing and running docker containers, learning to use the computing resources effectively and so on but they can also be even more adventurous with looking at how to program a robot or so much more using GPIO pins and parts which are available on the market. There are even guides on projects such as these ones on the internet by the Raspberry Pi Foundation (maker of Raspberry Pi). Obviously, things such as those ones should be supervised by an adult but I think my point here, in this article, is starting to get shape.
Lastly, how it can help us all.
Due to me discovering my path early, I was able to get support from my school to actually develop then from my college and now from my university as I always had my family’s support but it was hard for them to know where is better for me to go and develop my skills as it was literally on new grounds for them. I think that because it all started by using a small computer called Raspberry Pi, I seen it all as this cool way of learning which made me push myself even more at learning things.
I feel like I am not the only one which experienced this when they were younger hence this article. My whole home lab is still built using only Raspberry Pi computers which now are 3 as my demands grew with me.
In all fairness, the Raspberry Pi 4 (or the 400) can even be used as a standalone machine!
I think because of the low-price, it can push more young people into discovering and learning about computers in a really fun and less scary way especially in this cost of living crisis which some young people may feel like they want to help their loved ones by getting a part-time job and not depending on their parents. I certainly seen that as a possibility because many may not think about “what do I enjoy doing so I can learn it and make a career out of it?” but may think like “what can I do to make some money?” especially in the most deprived areas.
Finally I think this can result in the UK, especially now that mostly everything is digital, building a tech industry that will thrive as many people get comfortable with tech or as we know it, tech-literate (and yes, I know it can sound really farfetched for now).
