In the town where I grew up, there was an amazing secondhand bookstore called The Raconteur. It was the kind of place that hosted poetry readings by Pulitzer Prize winning authors, and Hemingway inspired arm wrestling contests. It was decorated with offbeat (sometimes kitchy) antiques and had that wonderful book smell.
They closed their doors at the end of last year after 8 years, because the proprietor Alex Dawson wanted to move on to other ventures, having just finished his MFA, and because they simply didn't make enough money. The New York Times wrote an article about the store after it announced that it was closing and described it as a classic 'third space' as described by sociologist Ray Oldenburg. That wasn't a concept that I was familiar with before reading the article, but it's something I am now rather intrigued by.
Quite simply, a third space is where you spend your free time and create community. Neighborhood bars, local barber shops and similar places have fit this classification for millenia, however, sociologists are saying that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are replacing them. Instead of interacting with their friends in person, people prefer to see them on the internet. I think that for a social species like our own this can't be a positive thing.
All in all, social media and social networking are a good thing. Living 8 hours away from my family, Facebook makes evening conversations with my mother or brother incredibly convenient, and enables me to stay in touch with people I would otherwise be too busy for. I think that there is such thing as too much of a good thing though, and creating interpersonal relationships in the real world will always be better than spending your evenings playing World of Warcraft.
They closed their doors at the end of last year after 8 years, because the proprietor Alex Dawson wanted to move on to other ventures, having just finished his MFA, and because they simply didn't make enough money. The New York Times wrote an article about the store after it announced that it was closing and described it as a classic 'third space' as described by sociologist Ray Oldenburg. That wasn't a concept that I was familiar with before reading the article, but it's something I am now rather intrigued by.
Quite simply, a third space is where you spend your free time and create community. Neighborhood bars, local barber shops and similar places have fit this classification for millenia, however, sociologists are saying that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are replacing them. Instead of interacting with their friends in person, people prefer to see them on the internet. I think that for a social species like our own this can't be a positive thing.
All in all, social media and social networking are a good thing. Living 8 hours away from my family, Facebook makes evening conversations with my mother or brother incredibly convenient, and enables me to stay in touch with people I would otherwise be too busy for. I think that there is such thing as too much of a good thing though, and creating interpersonal relationships in the real world will always be better than spending your evenings playing World of Warcraft.
I think that in a way social media is replacing physical "third space" places. I think that it is also affecting many peoples social skills because of it. As you said a lot of people rather catch up on facebook or just type a text message to someone instead of sitting down and communicating face to face.
ReplyDeleteEven though social media has become a very convenient medium to interact with people virtually, we will always have the need to develop physical relationships with the society. Most of us are involved and take advantage of the benefits of social media, but we should also be aware of the importance of traditional communication.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely need more of these third spaces. Nice essay.
ReplyDeleteI like how you described the third place. Social media has definitely replaced them. It is sad to see that people aren't interacting physically. Besides, I know what you mean by communicating with your family when you are staying up here in IUP and your family and friends aren't. I always connect with my family and friends back in Malaysia or other countries by Facebook. It is the most convenient way to keep in touch with everyone.
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