Arcades hold a large portion of my childhood memories. It was the place where I made friends from outside my social circle of school and neighborhood. I suppose

Arcades hold a large portion of my childhood memories. It was the place where I made friends from outside my social circle of school and neighborhood. I suppose in some ways it was an afternoon night club for kids. I have no idea where if anywhere kids today can find the same connections outside of parent subsidized sports and art programs. (Which really do not have the autonomy and real world social interactions arcades provided me.) I could hardly wait for my paper route money to come in so that I could meet up with my friends spend it at the arcade! Possible shopping centers have provide a similar experience but I feel the writing is on the wall and it does not bode well for these either. I worry that pseudo friendships such as those found online or soon in the Metaverse being the only option for our youth, will have long lasting negative consequences on our society which appears to be in decline already.