Shopping Malls and Reflections on the Good Old Days

I went to high school at Lutheran High School East in Detroit.  One of the great features of going to LHE was it's convenience to Eastland Shopping Center.  Eastland was a cluster of stores that were connected by park-like walkways.  It was not until later years that the complex was enclosed and it became a "shopping mall."   Eastland was a great place to hang out.  It was an easy walk from our school and if the weather was inclement, you could catch the bus in front of school and ride the couple of blocks.   I have great memories of visiting the mall with friends.  Funny, other than buying a burger at Big Boy or having a soda at the Saunder's Ice Cream Shop, I don't recall doing much shopping.  It was most the attraction of being with friends and conversation.

I don't go to shopping malls much these days.  Evidently, today's teenagers don't hang out there much either.  The two big shopping malls in north Dallas are North Park and The Galleria.  Both cater more to older adults.  I did stop by North Park one day this summer, just to test my theory.  It was a hot north Texas day, but very comfortable inside.  I observed a lot of young moms pushing stroller with other youngsters trailing behind.  I saw some fifty-plus women having lunch at one of the cafes. There were also older adults sitting on benches involved in conversations.  The shops all seemed to be busy, but I observed very few teens.  I even walked by the food court expecting to see some clusters of kids there, but none were insight.  The only young adults I saw were working in the stores.

Kids don't have a need to socialize at the mall anymore.  They have social media.  They can stay in touch with their friends 24/7 and they don't need to be at home on the computer.  They can text on their smart phones and use the same device to check-in on Facebook and Insta-gram.  When they do have a need to shop, they can do that on-line.  If they want to visit a store, it's probably doing to be one where they can park their car outside and walk in.  That is probably the reason why shopping districts like Mockingbird Station and the Shops at Legacy are so popular.  Just another sign that our world in changing.