What 16 Charlotte middle school students think about the future

But all kidding aside, I had a great time (thanks Mrs. Owens!) and the students asked a lot of fantastic questions. I got the full experience: Three hour-long classes, plus a 20-minute talk to a fourth. Cafeteria food in between (chicken and gravy over rice). It’s a different kind of exhausting to stand in front of a classroom all day, and my hats are off to all the teachers out there in Charlotte.

At the end of each talk, I asked the students four questions about their media habits and the vision they have of their future and the future of Charlotte. I found the apps they use pretty interesting. Kik seems to be pretty big and it’s something I’ve never downloaded.

There also seems to be a general sense that Charlotte will continue to grow and develop, but with a strong undercurrent that this will turn into a bad thing for the city. Fascinating. Also, I’m not sure if they’re kidding about the flying cars thing or if the thought of being 30 years old is so abstract and foreign to them that they just insert far-futurism into their predictions. It came up in every class. Anyway, here’s what they had to say.

DaShon
What do you like to read? Nonfiction
What apps do you use on your phone? Kik
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Serving in the Marines
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? It might be better. We are going to have better cars and houses and a bigger city.

DeJuan
What do you like to read? History books
What apps do you use on your phone? Cool Math or Y8
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Teaching
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? Smoke everywhere because of all the factories and trucks.

Eryka
What do you like to read? Diary of a Wimpy Kid
What apps do you use on your phone? Subway, Fruit Smash, Candy Crush
What will you be doing when you’re 30? I want to be a lawyer and have three children and live in Hollywood
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? It will be more bad than now. More people will get hurt. Why? Because it is getting more and more bad. People leave stuff on the floor.

Alyssa
What do you like to read? Junie B. Jones books.
What apps do you use on your phone? Soda Saga
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Massage therapy
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? More shops and cleaner

Essence
What do you like to read? Monster High
What apps do you use on your phone? Games like Monster High and Dress Up.
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Be a singer and on TV. I will live in Ballantyne.

De’Shanna
What do you like to read? Monster High
What apps do you use on your phone? Friv games
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Teacher or chef, have children and live in a nice neighborhood (but I already live in a nice neighborhood).

Amear
What do you like to read? Werewolf books
What apps do you use on your phone? Kik, Oovoo
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Flying airplanes
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? Robots flying everywhere

Braylan
What do you like to read? Star Wars books and Army books
What apps do you use on your phone? Games and sports information
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Going into the Marines and the NBA. I will live in Bel Air with a big house.
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? Flying cars and tall buildings and a lot of people.

Eric
What do you like to read? Diary of a Wimpy Kid
What apps do you use on your phone? Kik
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Jogging
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? Robots killing people because it’s the future

Azarian
What do you like to read? Mortal Kombat magazines and Game Informer.
What apps do you use on your phone? Mortal Kombat X
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Working at NetherRealm Studios (developer of Mortal Kombat)
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? More futuristic

Jaylin
What do you like to read? Comic books
What apps do you use on your phone? Vine, Funimate
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Actor and artist
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? Drones delivering the mail

Cristian
What do you like to read? Nature books
What apps do you use on your phone? Wallpapers
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Selling cars
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? More stores

Harold
What do you like to read? The story about the Titanic
What apps do you use on your phone? Calculator
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Starting a business
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? Still the same Charlotte I knew.

KeShon
What do you like to read? Green Eggs And Ham
What apps do you use on your phone? Snapchat, Kik and FaceTime
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Playing baseball and hunting
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? We will have bigger houses.

Orion
What do you like to read? The Incredible Hulk books
What apps do you use on your phone? Google
What will you be doing when you’re 30? I will be a businessman.
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? It will be big and we will have flying cars.

Dylan
What do you like to read? Harry Potter
What apps do you use on your phone? Google
What will you be doing when you’re 30? Engineer
What will Charlotte be like when you’re 30? Flying cars and hoverboards.