@telltaletypist the “third space” refers to a space between work (or in teens’ case school) and home! Basically it’s a comfortable space that allows you to mentally transition between the mental states of work and home. One of the reason why Starbucks ended up as such a widespread coffee chain is because they heavily modeled their locations on this concept. Libraries are also increasingly trying to make themselves “third spaces” for their respective communities. But capitalism doesn’t really like people just hanging out in spots and not spending money, so third spaces that aren’t commercial are getting increasingly rare. There is also something to be said about the general pathologization and criminalization of teens literally just hanging out. Like teens will hang out in a parking lot and proprietors will put up “no loitering” signs. One more third space eliminated.
