A third space is a social space separate from home, work or school. Third spaces have been etched into our society for as long as we’ve had them. Whether it was town squares in the distant past or parks in the past decade, third spaces fill the human need for community. However, town squares and parks that once served as bustling community hubs sit empty today as societal shifts and modern technology have reshaped the way we interact.
According to upper school counselor Lindsay Metcalfe, factors like COVID-19, infrastructure and governmental funding have contributed to the disappearance of these social spaces.
“People kind of think of their own little bubble and how they move through the world,” Metcalfe said.
However, just as environmental and societal obstacles have forced us to evolve, third spaces have evolved through social media.
“Social media could provide that community and that connection, and it is, you know, free and easily accessible,” Metcalfe said.
Research backs that interaction within third spaces is how we maintain our connections and how we stay happy.
“They make us feel more woven into society, and give us kind of an impression that other people are generally good, and that improves our own well-being,” Metcalfe said.
Although online chat rooms, and comment sections may provide a community, they also pose the danger of an echo-chamber.
“As you use really any social media platform, It becomes more personalized to you, but that means that it limits the variety of people and opinions and content that,” Metcalfe said.
These bubbles are created by social connection exclusively through personalized algorithms has created has given bias and hate larger platforms, targeting mostly impressionable young people who are just in search of connection.
A research article posted by the National Library of Medicine states that “increasing hours of social media use and viewing/sharing racial justice related news and posts may place youth’ at greater risk of exposure to vicarious racial discrimination more than individual discrimination.”
It’s also important to acknowledge that access to online social spaces is still limited, leaving some unable to engage due to time or lack of willingness.
“Being in school, you are highly scheduled through the day, and then lots of people have commitments after school that they need to do,” Metcalfe said.
However, school may still positively impact our well-being by limiting our phone use through forcing us to put away our phones in class, or keeping us so busy we can’t use them.
“I think [phones] give us sort of an excuse not to interact with random people that we encounter through the day,” Metcalfe said. “[Phones] just makes us look inward instead of outward.”
