The Decline of Third Places and the Rise of a Placeless Third Place
Are the places in our lives blurring into one? Has functionality and technology gone so far that we will never need to leave our homes? Third places have been on the wane for decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic in conjunction with the capabilities of the internet has exponentially hastened this process.
The Third Place
Our first place is the home, the second is work, and third place is where to socialise. The term was first coined by American sociologist Ray Oldenburg, who defined it as ‘the public placed on neutral ground where people can gather and interact’ (Ray Oldenburg, 2008). This can be a public park, a neighbourhood bar, a library, or even the sidewalk. It’s characterised by aspects of community engagement and low effort socialisation (Oldenburg and Brissett, 1982).
Why have third places been in decline?
Third places have been in decline for decades. Reasons include segregation and separation of communities facilitated by classism, overpricing, and privatisation. Furthermore, inflation and rising cost of living make spending time at third place's such as coffee shops more of an economic burden (Sheidlower and Kaplan, 2023). It can even be attributed to the way cities are planned, take the example of NYC where there are only 16 public toilets per 100,000 people who live in the city (Cope, 2022). In the United States, cities’ downtowns were once hubs of culture, life, and activity, but the control and privatisation of these spaces forces people to retreat to home and work (ibid).
Despite less of a lingering in community spaces, one may think that commercial third places such as bookshops would persist. Unfortunately, the pandemic reinforced online shopping habits, and social distancing regulations allowed businesses to increase turnover and reduce slow use of spaces (Auping, 2023). You may not have noticed that Starbucks removed newspapers from their stores post-pandemic, or that people are spending less time there as a result, but its little changes like this that have a big effect (ibid).
The Blending of Work, Home, and Social
The COVID pandemic brought attendance to third places to a halt, and blended definitions of home and work. This, coupled with longer working hours to ensure economic stability has seen professionals spending less and less time at the office, let alone socialising recreationally.
The first and second places are overlapping more than ever, and some traditional third places are becoming a common location for work. Those who aren’t working at home are occupying third places such as cafes as their workspaces. They’re plugged in and their brains are a world away. Data from OpenTable, a booking app, showed that roughly 50% of remote workers use third spaces for their work (Mimoun, 2021). As a result, professionals are unintentionally losing massive chunks of social interaction and work-life separation.
This focus on work is subtly visible in prominent television programs. The most notable manifestations of the traditional third-place idea can be seen in classic sitcoms like the 'Friends' spending most of their time at Central Perk. However, recent television portrays intense workplace stories like Grey's Anatomy, Superstore, and Succession (Relman, 2023).
The Impact of the Decline
The decline in the socialisation and community identification because of the decline in third places has brought on an age of loneliness. Senses of community and belonging are crumbling and affecting the mental health and wellbeing of our society (Finlay et al., 2019). As these places close, there is no longer a forum for support, especially one that is equally accessible to all.
Historically, third places were places where we could detach and have a reprieve from the stresses of day-to-day responsibilities. They were away from professional and emotional labour where chance social interactions were easy and spontaneous. This lack of mental space also can be detrimental to the way that we work and have long term impacts on career progression (Henshall, 2021). This is because moments away from household and work tasks allows time for thinking and creativity (ibid).
A Fourth Place
Younger generations have found a new third place online. The sense of community and support has been supplemented by their interactions had on social media, or even in parasocial relationships they’ve formed with public figures and influencers online (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). It can even be argued that the success of the podcast industry can be in part attributed to the gap that third-place decline has created in people's lives (Auping, 2023). While podcasts originated to probe conversation and inform its listeners to be able to carry the conversation further, they now replace the conversation entirely. Listening to podcast hosts chatting makes the listener feel that they are there as well, and the danger emerges because the socialising was not reciprocal. The difference between a third place and the online realm is the tangibility and the conscious act of being out and about with other humans. Too much of a reliance on social media can deteriorate mental health, put pressure on in-person relationships, and even encourage isolation (Cleveland Clinic, 2023).
Could third places come back?
Efforts are being made to resurrect the third-place lifestyle, but barriers to entry may negate the motivation entirely. Take Culdesac for example, it’s a neighbourhood designed in Arizona where residents can walk to the grocery store, spend time in purpose built third places, and embrace the neighbourly lifestyle (Relman, 2023). It has been wildly successful for residents but the requirement to buy a home makes this an exclusive luxury, only for those who can afford it (ibid).
If people are working more, and dedicating hours per day to online escape, it’s unlikely they will feel the need to revive third places that have already disappeared.
Bibliography
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Cope, A. (2022) ‘New York City is lacking public restrooms, but officials hope to offer some relief’, NPR, 3 July. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2022/07/03/1108890230/public-restroom-in-new-york-city (Accessed: 13 February 2024).
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