Consumer Culture Vulture

I use the word 'viral' very loosely here OK. I'm no Kardashian about to break the internet, but I got a nice email earlier this week letting me know that my recent article on high street retail decline had been picked up by Reddit users. It had over 500 comments! I was excited so I took a look. Here's how it felt to be the subject of the thread. 1. Kind of cool. Oscar Wilde style it is better to be talked about than not. I've used Reddit on and off for years so it's nice to be the source of conversation for a change.  2. Then underwhelming. Like so many experiences once you've actually had the experience it's kind of 'meh'. People are talking about my work. Is nice I guess but its really not all that.  3. Um, really? A lot of the comments are saying how this is a typical viewpoint of a baby boomer. I'm 32. I'm a millennial. Is my thumbnail picture really that bad?  4. No wait a second... I didn't ignore that mille...

N.B. This is the original of an article I wrote for The Conversation. The edited and updated version is available here . I preferred the title of my original!   Christmas trading figures have revealed an all too familiar bloodbath on the British high street. Mid-market giants M&S and Debenhams saw sales fall. But specialist retailer Halfords and discounter B&M Bargains also struggled. Even that most Christmassy of stores, John Lewis , saw profits fall markedly as it discounted to keep up with competitors. The current state of the British high street is a horror story. Debenhams, founded in 1778 , has seen its share price drop more than 90% over the last year. HMV went into administration for the second time in six years shortly before Christmas. An estimated 93,000 UK retail jobs were lost in 2018 and it looks like 2019 may be even worse.    Familiar underlying causes have been blamed. Economic stagnation, unfair online competition and glob...