Spending time in shopping centres has become a culture in our country. Do you agree?
- by Alib Har
In this epoch of rapid development, a myriad of shopping centres have been built. Many of them are still in the process of being built. We cannot deny the fact that they have become quite an indispensable part of today's generations. Many people prefer to spend time in shopping centres nowadays. It does not matter whether it is really necessary for them to frequent the arcades, but it seems to be the favourite place to spend their leisure time.
Looking at our country's economic climate and the standard of living, it is apparent that our needs and wishes have increased. In fact, we have much more wishes than needs today. The wishes refer to items such as the state-of-the-art smartphones, laptops and desktops, branded clothes, expensive shoes, jewellery, et cetera. All these things are readily available in shopping centres. Due to the convenience, many people would rather shop in arcades. Furthermore, before buying an item, we are free to visit different shops, compare prices and find the best deal.
Another reason why people love spending time in shopping centres is because of their cool atmosphere, since most of them are air-conditioned. Since we have the equatorial climate, the arcades are some of the best places to cool ourselves down without spending any money, if one prefers not to. Moreover, there are a variety of shops in an arcade, for example a spa, salon, bookshop, fast-food restaurant, boutique, department store and so forth. We can even find amusement arcades and cineplexes in many large shopping centres. That is why we save time and transport expenses as we are able to carry out many activities such as to shop, have our meals and entertainment all under one roof, instead of having to drive from place to place. Moreover, we need not worry about the rain or sunshine while we are in an arcade.
In spite of the fact that people love spending time in shopping centres, there are also disadvantages especially when those without any specific purposes spend too much time there. For instance, there is a growing trend towards both parents becoming careerists. They place their careers above their children's interests. As a result, their children might feel neglected when they are left at home. Consequently, they tend to spend hours wandering aimlessly in arcades and that encourages the 'lepak' or loitering culture. The undesirable culture can lead to immoral activities which bring forth negative effects on the students' body, mind and spirit development, not to mention their academic performance.
In a nutshell, it is apparent that spending time in shopping centres has become a culture in our country and perhaps even worldwide. It is advisable for us to plan our time wisely so as to prevent the wastage of time in shopping centres. Spending time in arcades without any vital business is not a great choice indeed.
