Let me begin by telling you what a third-party place is. A third-party place is somewhere distinct from your first-party place, like, say, your house, or your second-party places, for instance, your workplace or, in your case, CORE Butte, your school. Examples of third-party places include cafes, libraries, malls, gyms, restaurants, and parks. Essentially, “third-party place” refers to any open, informal, convenient place where you can go to hang out with your friends or family, converse, and have a good time.
So, are third-party places dying out? Unfortunately, yes- because they’re becoming too exclusive. After all, indoor places like cafes and restaurants are places that you can spend time in–but only if you are paying for something on the menu. If you want to go somewhere like a museum, it may be free, but you can’t really relax or make much noise. However, I believe that the main reason third-party places are dying is technology because nobody wants to leave their house if they can get the things that they need from their own house, and why talk to strangers in person if you can talk to strangers on the internet.
What I’m saying is that most of the third-party places are dying because of us and that we are not going to these places because of our technology, and I’m not the only one. Shane Demel, a Freshman at CORE Butte High School, said, “I believe that they are dying because of technology and because of the economy.” So I have one thing to say to you. Go to these third-party places when you are looking for something to buy and have a couple of dollars to spend. Go to the mall. Go window shopping. Even if it’s just grabbing a bite at a Subway inside Walmart, show up. Your presence (and your dollars) help keep these third places alive.