Somebody tweeted an interesting video into my Twitter feed the other day about third places. No, not third place as in a competition, but a third place apart from home and work, which’d be the most basic first and second places – the kind of place you’d go to hang out and socialize. The concept was apparently popularized by Roy Oldenburg in his 1989 book The Great Good Place, which attempts to explain the decline of third places already in progress back then. I thought it would be interesting to talk about because immediately as I was watching the video, I thought of MMORPGs. MMOs are third places! MMOs have been my big third place for decades now. They’re a non-work, non-home place I went to hang out with friends and strangers I couldn’t get to in person.
Of course, Oldenburg wouldn’t have talked about online spaces in 1989, but the video does; about two minutes in, it argues people try to “replicate” community online in video games, forums, and social media while simultaneously suggesting technology is in part to blame for the decline of physical spaces – all of which is probably true, though whether it’s a net negative is up for debate.
You tell me: Do you use MMORPGs as “third places” or see them as suitable replacements for the community spaces you might once have carved out in a bar, club, or physical spot?
I’ve never seen a video so perfectly sum up the structural and cultural issues that have led Americans to be so lonely. So important.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/a8EpvA9kJ1
— Elad Nehorai (@EladNehorai) September 28, 2022
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
