Why Drive-ins Closed?Vocabulary and Expressionsoutskirt insect

Why Drive-ins Closed?
   One of the reasons many drive-ins closed was their location. Many had been built outside cities on land that at the time was not very valuable. But with the growing population, more and more people moved from the cities to the outskirts.
   Soon, many drive-ins were surrounded by houses and stores. Now the land was very valuable. Offers from developers to buy the land became hard to withstand for the owners. After all, fewer people were going to drive-ins.
   Also, in some areas, insects, especially mosquitoes, were a problem. They would fly into open car windows during the movie. Some drive-ins sold insecticidal kits. They helped, but not much.
   In northern areas, nights can get cold even during the summer. Drive-ins were open just a few months of the year. Blankets and portable heaters helped — but, again, not much.
   Even when the drive-ins were open, the theaters often sat unused during daytime. What did bring a lot of money in many cases was to sell the land to build homes, shopping centers and office buildings.
   There were other problems. Some older theaters were dirty and not well-maintained. The quality of the films declined. And the spread of daylight meant the sun might not set until eight or even nine o’clock. This may have reduced attendance. But, at the same time, other changes were taking place with popular entertainment. More people were buying color televisions and more indoor theaters were opening with multiple choices of films.
   Video rentals and cable TV with many choices of channels made it easier, and cheaper to stay home for entertainment, which led to the fall of the number of drive-ins by two-thirds from their peak.
   Today, we live in a time of "individualization of the entertainment experience. " There are more choices and ways than ever to experience entertainment. If you really want to watch a movie in your car, you could watch it on a DVD player or stream video on a mobile device. You don’t have to go to a drive-in anymore. But some people still do.