In 1989, the sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “Third Place” to describe public environments separate from our usual locations of home (the “First Place”) and work (the “Second Place”). It is a place where you go to set aside your worries and cares, and simply enjoy the company of those around you. Conversation is the main activity and the mood is light-hearted. Traditional examples include coffee shops, pubs, libraries, churches and parks. But has today’s post-pandemic, hyper-digital world killed our “Third Places”?
We already blur the line between First and Second Places — working from home one day; and almost living out of our office the next. Everything becomes dollar signs and cost-benefit analyses, and we have no time for the few Third Places that remain. We use noise-cancelling headphones to turn cafés into mobile offices. We order “grab-and-go” coffees to squeeze just a few more minutes of work into our day.
My challenge to you is: take just five minutes out of your day to enjoy this unique space between home and work. Put down your phone. Say hello to the person sitting at the table next to you. Enjoy some classic poetry. Ask your barista how their day is going. Is the “Third Place” dead? Not quite — but we must be the ones to resurrect it.
– The Editor
