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Jessica Luna

​Dr. Santosh Khadka

English 113B

30 September 2019

Project Space: YouTube Versus Café

In the following essay, I will be writing about two third spaces, YouTube and a café and I

will explain why they are considered a third space. YouTube is a video sharing service that

allows users to watch videos posted by other users and upload videos of their own.

A café is a small restaurant that sells light meals and drinks. While YouTube and a Café initially

appear as distinctly different from one another, they have many similarities. People visit cafés to

temporarily relax and escape from their hectic day-to-day obligations.

Similarly, YouTube can also be used as an outlet in which one can relax and escape momentarily
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from the stresses of the day. In a café people often enjoy the company of friends, family, and

co-workers. On YouTube, users can also view and comment on videos made by their friends,

family, and peers. Since both YouTube and a café both relieve stress, and offer visitors a

reprieve from the daily grind, they are considered third spaces that serve as relaxation zones that

are entirely distinct from home and the workplace.

A third space is a communal space, distinct from the home or work place in which

humans use third spaces to decompress and mentally recuperate from the challenges of daily life.

The beauty of YouTube is that it can be used anywhere, day or night. It is a space where one can

distress themselves away from anyone or anything. It can also be used for a variety of purposes.

For example, the Ace Family uses YouTube to upload videos to make a living for their family

despite their separate careers that they have. They upload a new video roughly once every week

to entertain their audience and gain more subscribers. To be a part of the YouTube business, one

must be active on the site to be able to get more recognition and earn more money.

A café is also considered a third space because it is a public area away from home and

away from the workplace. At a café, one can go there to hang out with a group of friends or even

go in oneself to study or surf the internet using the café’s free WiFi. Like YouTube, cafes are fun

to visit, and they are free to all visitors; visitors are not obligated to purchase products at a café,

yet they are free to do so if desired. In an interview, the interviewee was asked, “ You as an

individual, would you consider a café a third space?” “ Yeah I would consider it a third space it’s

a place where you can still relax, but you’re not home and it’s somewhere where you can meet

up with your friends and it’s a comfortable environment, so I would consider it as somewhere

where you can hang out.”

 I do believe that each of these third spaces do relieve stress. They can relieve stress by

distracting visitors from the real world by simply allowing them to enjoy time for themselves. In

addition, these spaces are resources one can always rely on on a daily basis. They provide easy

and free access to all persons. They both offer products of interest to the young and old.

One way they can relate to each other is they are both business spaces in which one can

work in that company and earn money. They are both worldwide businesses. Furthermore,

anyone can decide to start their own café business in the United States if they wished to do so.

Since the majority of the people in California enjoy drinking coffee and hang out at a café it

won’t be too difficult to attract customers. YouTube is also a great space that anyone with

internet access in the world can upload a video or view any video of their interest. Both of these

are ideal third spaces because they can literally be custom-built by anyone, and can be used as a
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space of self-expression.

Thanks to services like YouTube and cafés, the world is a better place because people are

able to release frustration in these safe zones. The third spaces also foster friendships, and even

sometimes meaningful and unintended relationships. What better way to destress than to drink

some coffee, watch some funny animal videos, and meet new people while sitting in a café.
 Work Cited

Rodriguez , Gabriela, interviewer, Café questions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T74Dc9nS8w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=dpk_dssZXqs