Category: Observations

Every day I run into zombies. Well not physically, but I do see a lot of them on the streets downtown.

Whenever I get off the subway and step outside I see countless people walking around looking like zombies from B-movies.

There are drug addicts walking around aimlessly, some having conversations with imaginary adversaries, others singing.

There are also the so-called “normal” people… walking around staring into their smart phones without any awareness of their immediate surroundings.

After purchasing a coffee at Second Cup, I proceeded to ride the escalator to the street level of the shopping centre. During that short journey, I spotted at least 3 people with their faces glued to their smartphones, oblivious to the world around them.

Personally, I do not use my smartphones unless I stop and stand to the side. I believe that it is not safe to walk around while staring at your smartphone.

“zombie-warning” by This is Awkward is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

With the ever-rising cost of real estate in the City of Toronto, along with the explosive growth of food delivery services, are we witnessing the end of bricks and mortar retail in this city?

I do not believe that change will be this drastic, but I am starting to believe that we are heading down a path where retail outlets will actually shrink in size and focus on takeout or pickup orders.

I have been to several restaurants and bars where there are not many guests inside. What I do see is an endless stream of Uber Eats, Skip The Dishes, and other delivery people picking up orders.

I have spoken with several staff at various establishments and am beginning to hear the same story… customers are not filling up the venues like they used to, but the kitchen is busier than ever.

Starbucks is one of many retail establishments that lets customers place orders online or via smartphone apps for pickup at the location of their choosing. This is a convenient service, but I fear we may end up with cafes which consist of a takeout counter and no in-house seating. Recently, a location near my office removed all seating. What was once the seating area is now a standing wait area for mobile order pickups.

This seems to be following the trend where people no longer do things publicly. For example, most people watch movies at home rather than go out to the movie theatre. We purchase music online via the web or mobile applications in place of going to record stores. We purchase ebooks instead of visiting bookstores. People go online for dating instead of going out and meeting people at bars, clubs, or social events. Now, instead of going out to dine, growing numbers of people are choosing to stay home and order delivery.

Today, after a long day at work, I had the pleasure of riding home in a 74-foot long dining car.

The subway stopped at a station near mine. A young lad boarded and promptly scored a seat. No big deal.

To my surprise, this young man came armed with a hamburger in his left hand. He proceeded to eat the burger as if it were “normal” to walk around eating an unwrapped burger. There was no wrapping. No box. No bag. No napkins. Just a young man and his burger.

Ew.