Whatever happened to the idea of the “Third Place”? This term,—coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg—describes the third place people go to that isn’t their homes or their work (or for students—school). They’re meant to be social places in communities where you can catch up with your friends and meet new people, typically at a low or free cost.
The Third Place has seemed to decline, however, especially after the global pandemic COVID19. As people shift further and further into a digital world, it’s less likely to spontaneously pop over to your nearest park or local coffee shop. Things are more planned as people focus more on media than connecting with strangers and friends.
Students are bringing third spaces back, though. An anonymous survey was conducted to ask RAHS students about how they spend their time outside of school. Many students do what’s expected of being a teenager in the 21st century—a high percentage of students spend a lot of time on family responsibilities (33.8%), sports (39.7%), and being on social media (34.2%). But what beat them all was “Hanging out with friends”, which a total of 48.9% of survey takers selected.
A student’s screen time seemed to impact how they met new people outside of school as well. Ten out of the sixteen survey takers that selected they had more than eight hours of screen time (7.3%) said they met new people on social media. In fact, 25.1% of survey takers indicated they met new friends online—more than any other category.
Although the screen time average for most survey takers was above four hours (60.7%), which is where people spend their time—all hope is not lost. Despite high amounts of screen time, most responses indicated that high amounts of screen time had nothing to do with going out in the world and hanging out with friends. Common responses about where students go to hang out outside of school included coffee shops, movie theaters, parks, and the mall. Even if most teenagers now are meeting new people online and through social media, Third Places are not forever disappearing or losing their original purpose of bringing communities together.
The world is a scary place right now, and the most important things are as simple as going out into your city and community and seeing the other people that make you happy. Third Places are always there for the everyday person to take a break from the crazy things that happen at home, at work, and at school, and they need to stay a safe space for every individual to meet and play.
https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2024/07/03/vanishing-third-places-and-what-can-be-done
