this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2026
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What third space did we used to have as kids that we no longer have?
In my suburban high school social world, before cell phones:
A lot of these still exist in some degree, but the loss of malls and movie theaters has really put a damper on things, and the rise of cell phones has deemphasized the need for in person interactions with peers (rather than following an influencer on social media).
Loitering was basically never prosecuted. Now it is. Just hanging out at the movie theater for an hour or two before/after a movie sounds like a great way to get arrested.
TBH I hadn't noticed the loss of malls. I guess that's a problem though. Around me there's still plenty.
There's still lots of malls .. but they're empty. And often prohibit minors without an adult.
I'm going to throw in 'the local field that isn't a park but people use it like one.'
Malls, Chuck-E-Cheese, walkable neighborhoods and main streets, a lot of diners and such have been shut down in the past half century. Cities have kind of restructured around increased industry and productivity.
Parks are making a comeback, though, I hear.
Chuck e cheese still exists. They look more like a Dave and busters inside though
You forgot construction sites, drainage gullies, and random patches of forest.
Oh, and the middle of corn fields. That’s where Amish kids would go to party in my day. They had the best weed.
Parks aren't even always useful, as they require driving to. And worst of all, most cities dictate only allow park use during daylight hours because they want to keep the homeless away.
Here in Portland, I'm not sure that the city and suburbs were any more walkable in the past than they are today.
Outside
Outside still exists...
For kids growing up in car-dependent suburbia, outside does not exist. If you can't drive, you're trapped in your home, unless you want to just for for a walk among endless identical winding cookie cutter streets.
Where is a kid in suburbia supposed to go that's actually within walking distance? I suppose they could just hang out on the street. But homeowners seeing a group of teen loitering on the sidewalk in front of their home will call the cops. Hell, sometimes just walking around is enough to get a group of teens harassed by police.
"Hell" sound like an accurate description. I wouldn't want to live in such a place as an adult, much less a minor.
Yes, but very few parents just let their kids run around outside. Very few kids get to walk or bike to friends houses, without adult supervision. We have all internalized "stranger danger" and the "danger" that random people are to kids.
Not really.
I'm old enough to remember when grade school kids could get on a bus or subway alone without anyone saying anything.
If you made 'Stand By Me' today all the parents would be locked up for child endangerment.
Sure... but it's not so much that places have changed, but that parenting has.
I mean, if you can't just show up, than the places have changed.
Outside™: now with more extreme heat watches and smoke advisories!
Most kids today can't just go outside with all their friends and come back when the streetlights turn on like many of us did as kids.