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Nicole N's avatar

I think the third space discourse is a red herring that allows people to externalize the problem, instead of looking inward. Colleges are literally entirely "3rd spaces" and yet college students can't seem to make them work. How will they manage to engage with others in less age- and class-segregated spaces if they can't do it on a college campus? If you can't make friends easily in college, you certainly aren't going to do it at the library or a bar at 27.

I recently taught a class at my small, rural liberal arts college. The student body president was in my class, and we had so many deep conversations about what college was like for me 15-20 years ago and how it's changed. Students don't eat together in the dining hall regularly. It's way more normal to eat alone or in your room. They don't talk to each other in classes as much. They don't show up to the events that they advocated for.

My student and I identified this problem: being connected to a smart phone reduces all spontaneity of interaction. In the dining hall, that means that no one will sit with people unless they had planned to meet because people assume all dinner plans are firm and exclusive. In between classes, students entertain themselves and/or put earbuds in, which results in less spontaneous interaction. When there weren't phones or widespread MP3 players to entertain us while walking across campus, we sought out other people who were walking in the same direction.

Essentially, smartphones (through various mechanisms, including constant connectivity, constant entertainment, social positioning on social media, etc) have eroded the concept of the acquaintance. I've seen a lot of people theorize that the loneliness crisis is caused by the death of loose ties, not close ties. This tracks with my experience on campus. Students don't seem to have a large network of acquaintances anymore because smartphones take away the ability to spontaneously interact with others.

I'm looking forward to your research.

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Jones Beach's avatar

I found that FT article surprising! I'm way more scared to pick up the phone than to speak once I do 😂

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