If you’ve ever watched your teen hop onto a Discord server faster than they’ll answer your text, you’ve probably wondered what is so magical about hanging out online. Today’s kids aren’t just scrolling — they’re building whole communities in digital spaces that feel a lot like the “third places” adults once loved, whether that was the mall, the diner, or a friend’s basement. Those casual, comforting spaces mattered. For Gen Z, many of those places now live on screens — and that shift is more nuanced than it seems.

Why teens still need a “third place” — and what’s changed

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg, who introduced the concept of the “third place” in his book The Great Good Place, described these hangouts as the informal spaces outside home and school where people feel most themselves. Olde

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