At the mall

Currently: astonished (also, I need to get out more)

The composition of the late-night weekend mall crowd has certainly changed since my teenage heyday! Though I didn't spend much time at the mall during my tender teen years, I was there often enough to know that the old folks (i.e., not kids) pretty much cleared out by early evening on the weekends and we would be free to roam our undisputed territory.

Heading over to Tysons on a Friday night, however, it is apparent that the mall landscape is much changed. Teenagers galore, yes, haunting the movie theater and the food courts, and still idling in and around stores. But also a mishmash of families with young children (running around the toddler playground, eating family dinner at the food court), young to middle-aged adults (enjoying "outdoor-inside-the-mall" pavilion seating at dinner and extended happy hour, also browsing through the stores), and (my definition of this has changed a lot, as I gradually approach their demographic!) plenty of older people just hanging around (getting bites to eat, strolling, doing serious shopping, readying for a movie).

I didn't expect the mall to have become an entertainment center for all ages and types of groups. It was a surprising and almost surreal experience, to look all around and take in the community vibe. I wonder whether it's a function of where I live (super-suburban, where people are often going outside of the home to find "fun"), or if malls in general have trended towards becoming all-ages inclusive, indoor pedestrian commercial "parks."