5 ms·

As a (former) mall rat in the lovely upstate NY, malls are great. You could go there and hang out with friends, maybe shop but usually not, socialize, people-wa

by kortex 3y ago

As a (former) mall rat in the lovely upstate NY, malls are great. You could go there and hang out with friends, maybe shop but usually not, socialize, people-watch, get a bite to eat. They are basically the "walkable town center" that suburban USA sorely lacks, and in the dead winter or scorching summer, are pretty awesome.

bombcar 3y ago
Maybe they're still great for some (after all, I'm hardly a teenager anymore) but the times I've been forced by some Apple repair to enter them, they've felt pretty darn dead.
Corrado 3y ago
Yea, back in my youth the mall was the place to be. Hang out at the music shop and dream of owning that drum kit or bass guitar. Hit the food court with your friends. Maybe buy a pair of shoes or something. However, in the last several years the attitude of malls has changed. We had a spate of kids being kids and running through the local mall last year and it scared all the shoppers. Now they won't let kids in without an adult and keep hassling them at every turn. Malls have become a hostile place to shoppers. At least in my area.
- bombcar 3y ago
  That’s another way they’re duplicating the town center on a small scale, sadly.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
squeaky-clean 3y ago
As a former Florida mall rat, malls hated this and tried to end it. Sunset Place Mall had a policy for several years that any group larger than 4 that wasn't actively shopping had to leave. They even had cringey signs written in text-speak and emoticons, before emojis in text were common. I still remember " U grp 4+? $$ :) or go :("
- Animats 3y ago
  "They're not there to work. They're not there to shop. They're just there" - Mallrats For a picture of the mallrat era, see the intro to "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". (1982) [1] That mall, the Sherman Oaks Galleria, was torn down in 1999. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weKrwubPbeI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weKrwubPbeI

by kortex 3y ago

bombcar 3y ago

Maybe they're still great for some (after all, I'm hardly a teenager anymore) but the times I've been forced by some Apple repair to enter them, they've felt pretty darn dead.

Corrado 3y ago

Yea, back in my youth the mall was the place to be. Hang out at the music shop and dream of owning that drum kit or bass guitar. Hit the food court with your friends. Maybe buy a pair of shoes or something. However, in the last several years the attitude of malls has changed. We had a spate of kids being kids and running through the local mall last year and it scared all the shoppers. Now they won't let kids in without an adult and keep hassling them at every turn. Malls have become a hostile place to shoppers. At least in my area.

bombcar 3y ago
That’s another way they’re duplicating the town center on a small scale, sadly.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

squeaky-clean 3y ago

As a former Florida mall rat, malls hated this and tried to end it. Sunset Place Mall had a policy for several years that any group larger than 4 that wasn't actively shopping had to leave. They even had cringey signs written in text-speak and emoticons, before emojis in text were common. I still remember " U grp 4+? $$ :) or go :("

Animats 3y ago
"They're not there to work. They're not there to shop. They're just there" - Mallrats For a picture of the mallrat era, see the intro to "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". (1982) [1] That mall, the Sherman Oaks Galleria, was torn down in 1999. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weKrwubPbeI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weKrwubPbeI