Interesting perspectives from people who don't care for foot retention (the general term) any more. I respect them as opinions, which can never be right or wrong.

I'm 48 years old and have used foot retention continuously since I was 14. I got Look pedals in about 1987 and loved them, except for the problem of walking in them. I developed a problem with numbness in my feet, so I thought I needed a change, so I got spd-type pedals with mountain shoes. It helped, but only a little. It turns out that the cleat type wasn't a problem. But I like spd-type much better. The shoes are acceptable for walking. I once wore them all day at the office and walked for 5 minutes to the cafeteria and 5 minutes back. My cow-orkers didn't seem to notice I was wearing shoes not made for walking.

There seems to be a trend to reverting to old technology. Maybe why there is a gathering movement away from foot retention. The other clues are fixed gear bikes and Brooks saddles. Nothing wrong with those. I have a Brooks saddle on my commuter bike, and I have a fixie for fun. My observation is merely that old technology is more appealing these days than in recent years.