“I wish it didn’t feel so hard and scary to talk to strangers,” said Devin Collins, better known by his rapper name Devin.

Even as an active member in the Chicago music scene, he still feels a barrier to connection when meeting new people.

It is a challenging admission, but one many can relate to. In 2020, Covid-19 upended daily life. Many young people have struggled to regroup in the same places they once did, even five years out from the height of Covid-19. It became increasingly difficult to find places to socialize outside of the home, work or school without spending money.

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third place” in his 1989 book “The Great Good Place” to define social engagement outside of the first place (home) and the second place (work or school). He emphasizes the importance of third places as an accepting zone for diverse backgrounds to foster a sense of community, while remaining in a noncapitalist zone.

Rajyalakshmi Vasireddi, a senior at Loyola University, completed a final project for a class that explores college students’ motivations to go to third spaces and how it impacts their mental health.

All 10 college students interviewed for Vasireddi’s study emphasized the importance of balance in their daily routines and the role third places play in managing school, work and personal life. While studying the topic, she found extensive research on why these third places are closing.

“I wanted to have research to support the opening of these places,” Vasireddi said. “I found college students are specifically drawn to these spaces because of the impact Covid-19 has had on our generation.”

Paul Booth, a communications professor and associate dean for student affairs and engagement at DePaul, said this was once a staple in the social circles of young adults.

“It’s not that people don’t socialize, it’s that people socialize online. The problem is that that is a qualitatively different experience,” Booth said.

Spaces such as coffee shops, parks and community centers fulfill the basic human need for connection and belonging, Booth explained.

But once the lockdown hit, social habits shifted, and studies say social media use increased. What once might have been a walk in the park or a coffee date became a FaceTime call from home.

Collins believes the pandemic solidified the internet as an essential part of Gen Z’s daily life.

“I feel like I got really addicted to my phone during Covid,” Collins said.

Post pandemic, both people and businesses have struggled to readjust to the world.

“There is a two-year gap where a lot of people did not get the same social structures that most everyone else did,” Booth said.

While Booth does not believe social media eliminated third places, he said it accelerated their disappearance.

In recent years, spaces that once thrived have closed or shrunk. Chicago venues like The Promontory in Hyde Park, a concert venue and event space providing weekly programming, shut down at the end of 2025, further limiting affordable places to gather.

For Collins, the loss has been personal. As a musician, he spent years performing at open mics and concerts across Chicago. He said seeing the same faces at these events fostered a sense of belonging.

“I met some of my closest friends and collaborators to this day at these events,” Collins said.

Vasireddi’s findings highlight the emotional toll of losing these environments.

“People are able to notice that loss of support and social opportunities people and communities gained through third places has decreased because it has also resulted in a decrease in people’s wellbeing and mental health,” Vasireddi wrote in the study.

As traditional third places disappear, young people are finding alternatives. Collins points to the rise of run clubs as one example.

“Some people who are not even into running will go because it’s just cool to be with people your age and do an activity,” Collins said. “People will really go on a five-mile run if it means you can socialize.”

Others have taken a more direct approach by building third places themselves.

At DePaul, students have created DIY music venues out of their apartments. These include Brett Manion’s The Attic in Logan Square and Caro Remley’s Wildwood Chicago, where they both host shows for local musicians out of their apartments.

Collins recalled struggling to find venues for his group, The Sunflower Convertibles, which led them to host their own shows.

“It wasn’t much, but it felt special because we did it, and the people we cared about pulled up,” Collins said.

Booth said rebuilding third places may require moving beyond for-profit spaces.

“When we limit ourselves to just for-profit places, then we limit ourselves to what for-profit places can do,” Booth said. “The problem with that is then it gets more expensive, and they get bought out by big corporations, and it becomes gentrified, and it loses any type of individuality.”

As Gen Z faces the erosion of traditional community spaces and an increased reliance on the internet, many are choosing not to wait for third places to return. Instead, they are creating their own imperfect but meaningful spaces.

Collins emphasized that community does not happen on its own.

“You have to do it at the end of the day, no matter how it looks,” Collins said. “It’s not going to be sexy all the time. It’s going to be weird. It’s going to be uncomfortable. You just have to do it.”

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