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It is extremely depressing how malls have fallen

Doc Nova

The Doc
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When I was younger, our local mall was THE place to be. You could spend all weekend there people watching, getting food, hanging out, etc. I have so many fond memories of going to the card shop and gawking at Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh and begging my mom to let me have this or that. There was also a toy store (of course) filled with amazing things I always wanted.

These days, that same mall is semi abandoned. There's still one or two big named-stores, but otherwise there is nothing. So much so that part of the mall is even closed off. I never thought I'd become an angry old man, but what the fuck is wrong with today's youth that they let these amazing social hangouts go to waste? Is your nose THAT addicted to being in your phone? Why is this new generation allergic to in person social interaction? Like...y'all...even when I was a kid, cellphones were still new, and while some kids had them, they still preferred being outside and spending time in the real world.

I'm not saying phones are bad, or "fuck technology", but there needs to be balance. It's not going to kill you to talk to someone face to face. It's not going to kill you to go out somewhere and start talking to a stranger and making friends. I'm extremely anti social and introverted, but even I enjoy going out and doing things every so often. I feel like slowly, but surely we're cultivating a generation of people who will never talk to a stranger unless absolutely forced.
 
I dont think it's due to the lack of social interaction, it's because people order online more than they would go out to a physical store. COVID definitely helped in the decline of the mall overall because they were hit the hardest.

You're right, but it's half and half. It's half the luxury and convenience of sites like Amazon and half kids these days are allergic to irl social interactions. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen kids who focused solely on their phones and barely even look at another person - even their parents.
 
I dont think it's due to the lack of social interaction, it's because people order online more than they would go out to a physical store. COVID definitely helped in the decline of the mall overall because they were hit the hardest.
Those are my thoughts also. The nearest mall is 2 hours away from where I live. I used to drive to a few places to get what I wanted. But now, I just mainly order off of eBay or Amazon instead because I don't get out much through the week and it's more convenient.
 
I was in that era of malls being popular but my mom wouldn't let me go there very often when I was in jr high. I think it wasn't until I turned 16 that I could go there more often with friends and then when I dated my husband, we used to go and just walk around too. We never really bought anything.
 
The problem with malls from the retailer's point of view is the price of the rent per square foot, and various fees and charges that they have to pay.

Most malls intentionally and significantly raise the rent every year on lease renewal, whether or not the store's business has dropped off or not.

Then once the stores start to close, the owners jack the rent on the remaining ones to keep their own profits up.
 
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