Where do you go when you need to leave the house but you don’t have school or work? Where do you go to socialize or study with friends? Parks, libraries, stores, coffee shops, cafes, gyms or community centers. These places are known as third spaces.

First coined by American sociologist Ray Oldenburg, “thirdspaces” are places outside of the home, the first place, and school or work, the second place.

It’s where people go to converse with others and connect with their community and typically is a casual and social environment since no one is obligated to be there.

Third spaces shouldn’t cost money because that prevents people from going there.

Today, there are fewer free options for this leisure, causing more people to go to coffee shops or stores to fulfill the need for a third place. However, at these places there is a societal expectation to buy something to be there.

You have to buy a coffee at Starbucks to study there, buy a meal at Panera to meet up there, or buy one thing at Target to hang out there — which defeats the whole purpose and freedom of a third space.

You shouldn’t have to always buy something to hang out at a place other than your home. The point of this should be that you can go there and you’re not expected to be a consumer. You’re not expected to buy something or to contribute to something. You’re just there to be there.

Another big problem with third spaces is accessibility. Oldenburg said in his book “The Great Good Place,” that “what suburbia cries for are the means for people to gather easily, inexpensively, regularly, and pleasurably — a ‘place on the corner,’ …that [does] not necessitate getting into an automobile.” Because of increased suburbanization, we lose easy walkable access to these areas.

My parents have told me stories about their childhoods — they had neighborhood baseball fields and basketball courts where all the children would gather and play during the long hours of summer. They were able to walk to the mall, arcades, bowling alleys, parks, and libraries, which all were relatively inexpensive.

Now, we don’t have easy access to these places because most are too far away for children and teens to walk there if they don’t have cars.

But when they do find the means to get there, people complain about kids existing in public spaces. Some stores are now prohibiting unaccompanied minors from entering their businesses because of the bad actions and manners of a few individuals. People see teens in public spaces as a nuisance.

As a teenager myself, I’ll admit sometimes we can come across as annoying and troublesome, but most of the time we are just having fun. Isn’t that the point of being a teenager?

Stopping all of us who mostly are just shopping and not even trying to cause trouble from using third spaces based on a perception of just a few teens is wrong.

Adults always complain about us being on social media and being on our phone, but without third spaces, where do you want us to go?

According to the American Psychological Association, the average screen time in the United States is over seven hours, and teens spend an average of 4.8 hours on social media every day. While I do use way more than the recommended two hours of screen time a day, I also know too much screen time and social media can severely affect teenagers’ mental health.

Social media isn’t the right alternative to actual third spaces because we need actual face-to-face socialization.

Everyone needs to do their part to make third spaces available and accessible. Teens also need to take advantage of the third spaces that are available.

So take a break from your everyday life. Go to your local library and study. Find a park to spend time outside. Go to a coffee shop with your friends.

Go out and enjoy a third space.