This is actually much bigger than that. I understand what you’re talking about, hell, I’ve been programming computers for thirty years, and developing web applications and websites since the 1990s, I’ve done my part to bring some of that about. But what’s going on is being caused much more by income inequality and gentrification. For example, here in San Francisco, not only bookstores, but other businesses are being forced out of the city do to rent increases, including service businesses like barbershops. People that have lived and worked here for generations are being forced out because they can’t afford to live here. And when I say “here” I don’t just mean the actual city itself, but the entire Bay Area, because that’s how big this thing has become. That’s why you’ll see so many articles these days comparing New York and San Francisco, even in New York publications. Both cities, and the surrounding areas, are well on the way to being completely remade into playgrounds for the rich, and, especially in the case of San Francisco, those rich are overwhelmingly in their early 20s, and very white.
In other cities in the US, you’ll actually see that bookstores, even small independent bookstores, are doing surprisingly well. Just do a web search for “small bookstores thriving” and you’ll see articles from all over the country. There’s even a huge resurgence of vinyl records for crying out loud. We need to be careful not to chalk everything up to the old “internet as disruptor” meme.
