Dying trends that you still follow

[Alolan_Apples]

What are some things that people these days used to do a lot, but don’t value as much anymore, yet you still enjoy doing? I know one example is using traditional forums like this, but what else do you do that’s not popular anymore, like watching VHS, going to a mall, or listening to music via CD player.

You can also include watching old TV shows or playing video games that were once popular, but people hardly play these days.

 

[ali.di.magix]

I still like going to malls for shopping. I'm not a fan of online shopping for clothes as I'm very particular about how clothes fit and feel, and it's hard to guess getting them online.

I like going to watch movies in a theater too. Usually for the bigger blockbuster movies that I'm interested in. However, movie theaters are getting quite expensive

I guess buying physical games comes under this category as well. I prefer buying physical copies of new games, and you can always find physical copies of older games cheap as well.

 

[Croconaw]

The only thing I can think of is that I like going to the mall just to walk around. Hot Topic is a fun place just to browse and see all the anime stuff.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

Although I don’t do it as much since I live in the country, but going to malls is one thing I still do.

On a gaming-related note, I still play older games, mostly N64 games. Not just through NSO, but also on the 3DS (Ocarina of Time), through SM3DAS (Super Mario 64), and even the N64 (Diddy Kong Racing). Even smartphone games aren’t exempt from this. I still play 100 Floors (which was gone from the App Store for over five years), Labyrinth 2 (which I played starting 2010), and Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic (which is a mobile port of Roller Coaster Tycoon 2).

 

[Belle T]

These days, I mostly play retro games in general, which I suppose counts in some fashion, but I'd argue that retro gaming isn't really a terribly unpopular hobby. In fact, I'd argue that it's less contentious now than it was ten years ago, due to the wider availability of retro-inspired indie games and increased media exposure thanks to platforms like YouTube. Rarely these days do I come across someone chiding me for playing an older game because it's not in 3D, or that it's not "realistic" enough, or whatever other arguments were prevalent in the Wii era. The biggest hurdle retro gamers have now is increasing costs and the state of media preservation being rather deplorable in the modern age, rather than pushback from an uncritical mainstream audience that only see games as expendable timewasters than works of art capable of evoking emotions in the same way as novels and movies.

On the subject of novels, I'm not above reading eBooks, but I vastly prefer physical books. It's funny that I can stare at a screen for hours while playing games on my 3DS or Switch (even text heavy games like Ace Attorney), but for some reason, I find the glare of my tablet screen when reading eBooks to be intolerable. I should really invest in a decent e-reader one of these days.

 

[LadyDestani]

I guess I would say buying physical copies of everything. I don't like digital downloads because I don't feel like I own anything. It can be wiped out in a moment. So I still buy CDs, DVDs, video game cartridges or discs, and I will always, always, always buy physical books. Reading is one of my favorite hobbies and it just doesn't feel the same if I'm not holding a book in my hand. I love the weight, the smell, the texture of the paper, and even the simple act of turning the pages.

I also still play old games whenever possible. I have never gotten rid of a gaming console. I have all the Playstation models 1 through 5 and they are all hooked up to a TV and working. I have my old Gameboy, Gameboy Advance SP, and 3DS plus a couple of games for each of them as well.

One trend that I dearly miss and would still be doing if I could is going to video game arcades. It's so much more fun to play against opponents who are standing right next to you. The trash talking, the jokes, the camraderie are all missing from the online multi-player experience in most genres. I am very much a social introvert, but gaming in person is how I met my husband and many of my friends over the years. It's one of the few places I felt comfortable coming out of my shell. I wish all the arcades in my area hadn't closed up.

 

[Belle T]

One trend that I dearly miss and would still be doing if I could is going to video game arcades. It's so much more fun to play against opponents who are standing right next to you. The trash talking, the jokes, the camraderie are all missing from the online multi-player experience in most genres. I am very much a social introvert, but gaming in person is how I met my husband and many of my friends over the years. It's one of the few places I felt comfortable coming out of my shell. I wish all the arcades in my area hadn't closed up.

YES. I miss arcades so much. I miss the feeling of driving games, the simplicity of light gun games, even things like the stereotypical "arcade" carpeting. Sure, we have all these things at home, but it's so, so far from being the same thing. Racing wheels for the home market don't have the same feel as those in the arcades, and light gun games for the home are often terrible, even with major innovations in the technology.

To my knowledge there is at least one arcade near me still open, but it has since transitioned from being a fun place with a variety of interesting games of various demographics to "mobile games but with a larger screen, almost exclusively aimed at toddlers." It's so depressing.

 

[Kitsuragi]

Oh I love going to malls. Where I live, there's quite a few malls that are actually still really popular. They're extremely nice malls too, really big and with super nice stores. My favorite mall from years ago died though LOL

Otherwise? I totally prefer to call people over texting. A lot of people have phone anxiety these days so it doesn't bother me if they don't want to, I just send voicemail/voice messages. But when I'm telling a story or trying to convey something it's just easier for me to speak. Even though I stutter LOL

 

[Ravenkitty22]

Otherwise? I totally prefer to call people over texting. A lot of people have phone anxiety these days so it doesn't bother me if they don't want to, I just send voicemail/voice messages. But when I'm telling a story or trying to convey something it's just easier for me to speak. Even though I stutter LOL

I’m the same way! Especially with people I’m close to, like friends or family. It’s really hard to tell the tone someone’s trying to speak through text imo.

As for the thread topic, yeah, I also like going to malls sometimes just to get out of the house. And like someone said, I can’t do e-books or audiobooks. Has to be a physical copy. There’s something about holding the book in your hands that’s just… I don’t know how to describe it but it feels different.

I also wish forums were still a mainstream thing. There’s so much more of a community feel and not just “look at me doing (x) so I can get a bunch of followers/subscribers/site equivalent”. I’m starting to feel like maybe I was born in the wrong generation for saying this.

 

[Kitsuragi]

I’m the same way! Especially with people I’m close to, like friends or family. It’s really hard to tell the tone someone’s trying to speak through text imo.

THIS EXACTLY!!! oh my god. It's so hard for me to tell tone through text and I sincerely cannot remember all of the tone indicators people use, and they still sometimes just don't make sense so it's like. Please call me, I can't tell sarcasm through text and Im gonna assume you're mad at me like

 

[LateGamer]

Otherwise? I totally prefer to call people over texting. A lot of people have phone anxiety these days so it doesn't bother me if they don't want to, I just send voicemail/voice messages. But when I'm telling a story or trying to convey something it's just easier for me to speak. Even though I stutter LOL

Oh this! I actually prefer both depending on situation. I mostly prefer texting if it’s a quick question or just a bit of news. Like I might text my sister to ask “are you coming tomorrow?” So I do love texting and text a lot, but yeah there are so many times I would much rather call and have a nice conversation. I have an uncle whom I dearly love, but he won’t talk on the phone, only wants to e-mail. UGH! So sadly I don’t communicate with him often.

 

[Corrie]

-I prefer forums to social media
-I prefer reading physical books to on a screen
-I prefer gaming in the early 2000s (GameCube, PS2, GBA SP, DS) to gaming now
-I still use my iPod instead of Spotify

 

[LateGamer]

-I prefer forums to social media
-I prefer reading physical books to on a screen
-I prefer gaming in the early 2000s (GameCube, PS2, GBA SP, DS) to gaming now
-I still use my iPod instead of Spotify

I followed right along with you until you said your ipod, LOL! I do still have my ipod but sadly I don’t use it anymore. I’m thinking now the battery is probably completely shot. Too bad, cuz I still have all of my songs from back when I transferred all of my CD’s. I need to go dig that out and see if I can use it!

 

[Croconaw]

Yeah, I don't have any social media. I prefer forums. I only use Discord so I have communication with my favorite person and a few other people I have added. I'm only in one Discord server. I feel out of place not having social media since that's typically what people ask for when you meet them. I wish not having social media was more normalized and not seen as weird.

 

[CylieDanny]

I love manga, but I prefer hard copies. I don't like reading manga online, I only like hard copies, so I try to buy all my manga, and keep it on my shelf-well a book case. A very big book case of manga. Even if its bad manga, because Ive been disapointed by so many. But I have them on my shelf.

I grab them from shelves off thrift stores, that cost like 1 dollar. Some of my favorite titles came from there. But also from book stores. But I never pass up 1$ worth manga. I found out about Gravitation through 1$ and its one of my favorite series.
--

The only time i read them online, is if the manga isnt avalible in stores, or to order. Which some arnt. Then I read them online. But since those manga are so unknown, and not like Tokyo Ghoul or Tokyo Revengers. So the sites those manga are on are... sketchy, or ya know. Have THOSE ads. But hey, there are a few sites that don't. Just hard to find. I very rarely read them online, I haven't read online in awhile.

The last one I read online was this horror sea creature one, i can't remember the name of it.

I have a long list of Manga I want hard copies of.

 

[Xara]

i’m honestly so sad that going to the mall is considered a dying trend. i love going to the mall— i even went to one earlier this week, and will be visiting another one tomorrow! online shopping is nice, and i like the excitement of receiving what i bought in the mail, but i prefer in-person shopping. there’s just something about being in a mall, co-existing with a bunch of strangers who are all going about their business and shopping just like you, and getting to check out a bunch of different shops that i love. the vibes of malls are truly unmatched, especially during christmas time when they’re busier than usual and all decorated! trying to find a parking spot is always a pain, though LOL

and similarly— paying with cash instead of a credit/debit card. i know that paying with a card is more convenient and that some places don’t accept bills anymore, but i still like paying with cash when i can :’)

 

[Beanz]

i can't think of any other dying trends that i still follow but i LOVE going to the mall, you guys have no idea. my local mall can get kind of sketchy during later hours so i always go early when none of that is happening, most of the time i never buy anything (unless it's from hot topic) but i enjoy the mall vibes.

 

[MiniPocketWorld]

I prefer reading from a physical book than a digital copy even though it isn't good for the environment and it's more expensive. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it has something to do with the lighting of the screen? I also feel like it is easier to look for something in a physical copy than a digital, if the digital doesn't have a search option, which I have ran into before and it's annoying.

Trying to think of others... I do like radios and do still use them a lot of the time even though I use YouTube for music and podcasts most of the time.
I did go backwards when it comes to social media platforms. I don't have those accounts anymore. They are waaaay different in the 2000s/early 2010s than now.

 

[-Blue-]

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is using forums. But really this is the only frequent one I use because the others are dead. Except for one that I occasionally use to talk to an old friend/penpal. I just feel like with forums I got to really know the people I interacted with daily. With social media, it's less about that for people and more about clout. And I'm not into that nonsense.

I guess I still have a collection of dvds. I know everyone is getting rid of all that stuff because of streaming services. But I just can't get rid of those yet. Especially because sometimes those streaming services don't have everything and or may get rid of certain movies/series. And then I'd regret tossing movies I enjoyed.

Also having physical copies of games. I prefer that over digital. Everyone wants digital and I get it, it's convenient and less space. But that game copy is locked to that one system only whereas with physical I can use it on multiple systems.

 

[Nunnafinga]

I prefer to drive cars that have a manual transmission.I learned to drive a manual when I was fairly young and got used to it.Unfortunately there are very few new cars and trucks that offer a stick shift.