Causes of the Decline of Third Places

This topic asks what has caused the decline of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place">third places</a>: informal gathering sites outside home and work where people can arrive without a prearranged group and take part in unplanned social contact.<br />“Decline” is the working premise. It can mean one or more of the following, and they should not be treated as the same outcome:<br /><br /><ul><li>fewer establishments that still meet a third-place definition</li><li>remaining sites that are harder to reach or more expensive to use</li><li>remaining sites that no longer function as third places (they look like cafés, bars, gyms, or libraries, but they do not support lingering or unplanned contact)</li><li>lower use of qualifying sites even where they still exist</li></ul>