As young people have started to prefer spending their free time in malls more often, they gradually abandon traditional, more organized activities like doing sports or playing musical instruments. Even if such a behavior can be justified, I believe that the tendency is negative overall.
It is true that young people, especially those who attend high school or university, experience a significant amount of stress on a daily basis, an amount that is much bigger than people used to experience a generation ago. To unwind, many prefer shopping malls, as they have everything needed for low-stakes weekends, such as popular music in the background, affordable food and drinks, and conversations with their friends or even strangers. For example, branches of Mega, a popular network of shopping malls across Kazakhstan, are popular places to hang out for students from leading institutions like Nazarbayev Intellectual School and Nazarbayev University, so students can relax after an overwhelming week.
While this behavior is attributed to the need for proper rest, I believe that it acts as a distraction from pursuing traditional extracurricular activities with more tangible effects. Such activities, like drawing, playing instruments, or even singing, have a similar effect on overall mental relaxation but lead to development of specific skills and general cognitive abilities. Of course, pursuing the hobbies that are more traditional involves facing additional stress, as mentors constantly demand commitment and a certain level of performance; yet the fact that attending activities that require constant improvement, both physical and mental, helps students with their school studies also should not be overlooked. The conventional belief is that people who participate in such traditional activities are more likely to achieve greater results, as numerous studies have proven that the commitment to organized hobbies has a direct correlation with getting admitted to Ivy League universities or working at FAANG companies. Therefore, should a person choose to go to a local mall with friends, they will miss out on other activities, for example, getting better at the piano, which would help them relax and improve their cognitive abilities.
In conclusion, shopping centers help young people relax, but because they are distracted from improving in co-curricular initiatives, I believe that a growing preference for malls is a negative development.