Twitter in the context of Oldenburg’s Third Place Theory

Abstract

Third Places are spaces where people can participate in a social network by discussing everyday events with the community, apart from home or work, as Oldenburg (1989) defined. Coffee shops, libraries, parks, and open spaces are the third classically defined places by Ray Oldenburg. According to the definition of Oldenburg; It is neutral, inclusive, communicative, and accessible, has regular goers, prominent with social ties, and gives the feeling of fun and comfort of the house. Along with developing internet technologies, virtual environments have emerged that match Oldenburg's definition. By creating profiles on social networking sites, people can follow or share topics of interest to them. Twitter, a social networking site (SNS), provides users with a virtual environment that allows them to talk and discuss with other users. This study aims to consider Twitter in the context of Oldenburg's Third Place Theory. In this context, firstly, the concept of third place is defined in the literature. Then, the usage areas of virtual media and social networking sites and the opportunities they offer to the people are revealed. As a case study, the extent to which the virtual environment provided by Twitter provides the opportunity for the Third Place concept, and it conforms to the parameters defined by Oldenburg, was discussed. Twitter meets the eight features of Oldenburg’s third place. In the context of long distances, economic crises, limited time and the opportunities offered by technology; it has been demonstrated that interest in the virtual environments for the third place and socialization needs of the people will increase gradually.