What's called the "third place", and that's sorely missing in modern life and in my opinion the root cause of the epidemic of loneliness.
The third place is the third nucleus where you just hang out: one is family/home, two is school/work.
In college usually you hang out with people after school. Then you graduate and it's just home and work. Meeting people outside for drink isn't a third place. A third place is a place where you just are, for how long you want, with no expectation from anybody, and with some movement of people/fresh faces once in a while.
I've seen that in Africa visiting my family (hanging out on the porch after dinner talking to neighbours and passersby), I've seen it in older people in Southern Europe (hanging out in bars playing cards), but in my 30s there is a complete lack of this space. If you're working 9-5 it's even worse.
What's even sadder is seeing the younger generations losing this space, because hanging out online is more convenient, so they're stuck at home, alone.
A structural problem is that in the cities where young people congregate, rents are high, and therefore spacious "third places" aren't likely to be viable.
What's called the "third place", and that's sorely missing in modern life and in my opinion the root cause of the epidemic of loneliness.
The third place is the third nucleus where you just hang out: one is family/home, two is school/work.
In college usually you hang out with people after school. Then you graduate and it's just home and work. Meeting people outside for drink isn't a third place. A third place is a place where you just are, for how long you want, with no expectation from anybody, and with some movement of people/fresh faces once in a while.
I've seen that in Africa visiting my family (hanging out on the porch after dinner talking to neighbours and passersby), I've seen it in older people in Southern Europe (hanging out in bars playing cards), but in my 30s there is a complete lack of this space. If you're working 9-5 it's even worse.
What's even sadder is seeing the younger generations losing this space, because hanging out online is more convenient, so they're stuck at home, alone.