Fads are supposed to come and go, but it is their legacy of deciding what’s hot and what’s not that will live on forever. Just as one style or phase dies out, another one pops up to fill its place. We will never see a day where there isn’t a must-have gadget or an in-season fashion or a hot band with fanatic fans. So once today’s fads die out, what will we have next? It isn’t too soon to call what the next big things will be because assumptions can be made based on what is already starting to emerge in the fields of fashion, music, film and technology.

Predicting what is to come in today’s pop culture isn’t easy, and that is why it is a special quality to have when working in certain industries. Clothing and interior designers take a look at unique styles, colors, fabrics, prints and patterns and decide what would look best for the upcoming season. Musicians turn to the Top 100 lists and, rather than adjusting to the mainstream sound, they create a revolutionary sound of their own. Engineers take the newest scientific breakthroughs and produce smaller and smarter phones, tablets and computers. On a much larger scale, the stock market must look at social and business related fads in order to place their money accordingly. The ability to predict the future of fads is very practical and treasured in this fast-moving society.

There are already some fad predictions introduced to us by futuristic movies and shows. According to the classic “Back to the Future Trilogy,” we will have hoverboards and flying cars by 2015. Episodes of “Doctor Who,” “Futurama” and “Spongebob Squarepants” predict that time travel, robots and all things made of chrome will be hot in the near and far future. Whether or not these trends will turn into major fads is still up for grabs, and there is still plenty of time for these men of the past to have accurate predictions.

Here are some fads that your peers and teachers believe will debut soon: flexible phones, communication and entertainment streamed to the brain, “computer throw-up” as a form of music, doomsday prepping and visits to the moon. Due to the incredible speed in which technology is advancing, these predictions are reasonable and are bound to become popular sporadically.

We have all heard of the fads of the past. We can see the present ones around us wherever we go. All we can do about the fads of the future are make realistic assumptions and draw on ideas promoted in fashion, music, film, television, and technology. It keeps us at the edge of our seats to see what will be the next big thing, and it is even more exciting when we find out that our predictions are right. And who knows? The next wave of fads can be right around the corner.