One of my Uber Chronicles stories.
Beep! I pick up a young kid who is leaving a friend’s house after being there in the afternoon and into the early evening. He sits right next to me in the passenger seat. He’s the first and, so far, the only individual rider who has sat in the front seat. I chuckle silently to myself.
I feel as though I’m his mom and I’m giving him a ride.
He’s 16, short, Black and, unfortunately for him and possibly his future, doesn’t speak clearly or well. I ask him about school, where he goes, what he likes. I ask his permission to ask him a question about what social media he uses. He grants me my request.
He uses Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter mostly. No Facebook. Why not? I don’t like it.
Why? I don’t like how it’s laid out. Is your Twitter account public for people to see or private? Public.
What do you like about Snapchat? I don’t know. I just like it. How many followers do you have on Snapchat? A lot. A lot of people watch my stuff. Why? Because I’m cooler than the other kids.
I believe him. He’s charming in his own way. I take him home.
Key experience: We all live in our own worlds. And that’s ok.
