Beyond School and Home: Teen Loneliness and the Importance of Third Spaces

Teenagers need places to belong beyond school and home. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg calls these “third places”. We surveyed 472 art-K students on their experiences. This data confirms that in-person social spaces matter more than ever in an increasingly digital world.

Summary: Today’s teenagers have grown up in a fully digital world. Data shows us that it’s having a huge impact on their confidence and well-being. For some parents, these challenges may be very profound. We asked our secondary-age students: What do you value most about coming to art class? In an increasingly isolated world, these results are certainly something to celebrate. Discover our findings, warning signs of loneliness in teens, and how we endeavour to support them.

The Idea of the “Third Place”

Ray Oldenburg coined the term third place in his 1989 book, “The Great Good Place.” The book remains in print, and his theory remains relevant. Third places are defined as the shared public spaces outside of home or work. Examples include coffee shops, libraries, and corner shops. They are often characterised by their relaxed and informal atmosphere, fostering a sense of comfort and belonging. [1]

Interestingly, third places are specifically described by Oldenburg as a “face-to-face phenomenon”. [1] Meaning that third places must be spaces where people meet in person, not online. In a recent interview, he addressed the reality that an increasing number of our shared communities and connections are online.

Third places provide opportunities for different people to gather, socialise, and establish connections. For these reasons, Oldenburg highlights just how vital they are to our well-being today. [1] After all, our faces are often fixated on phones in meeting places – whether that’s in cafes or on the tube!

Are Young People Becoming More Isolated?

Almost half of British adults agree that the general population is getting lonelier [2]. You can read more stats in last month’s blog here.

Shockingly, data shows us that young people are more likely to feel lonely than any other age group:

21% of teenagers aged 13 to 17 report experiencing loneliness – that’s 1 in 5. And 72% of 16 to 25-year-olds reported a negative impact on their mental health due to loneliness. [3]

Rates of loneliness in teens have increased since the pandemic, the WHO researchers found. Teenagers are spending less time hanging out with friends in person than they did a decade or two ago. [4]

What Our Students Told Us

As we provide a social space for our students to come and create each week, we were urged by these stats to investigate further into the pressures on this generation and, more specifically, our students’ own experiences.

So, we asked our secondary school-aged students: What do you value most about your time in the studio?

We wanted to know how art-K acts as a third space, a place to develop beyond home and school.

We received responses from 472 teenagers aged 11-18.

193 said they come to focus on art, with many sharing that they value the time to be creative.

136 said they enjoy coming to relax.

Yet, a surprising 143 said their favourite part of coming to art-K was to socialise – having made friends in the studio.

We want to celebrate that so many of our students look forward to catching up with each other each week (31%), whilst the remaining percentage (69%) see the studio as a safe space to relax and focus on art away from the worries of school. Alongside our data, we collected comments from students who shared that the studio is a place to connect, relax and grow.

So, what are the root causes of social isolation in teens?

There are many different factors that can cause feelings of loneliness and isolation in teenagers. These are listed as:

Times of change, such as moving schools, e.g. going from primary to secondary school
Feeling misunderstood
Comparing their abilities to others
Experiencing a change to their mental health or wellbeing
Bullying
[5]

There’s also a mass of evidence to confirm that frequent use of social media increases the likelihood of social isolation. Namely, unhealthy social comparisons. [6]

So, whilst teenagers tend to have more frequent social interactions, for example, at school, what seems to be driving the high rates of loneliness in younger people is a sense of dissatisfaction with the quality of the relationships that they have – an unmet expectation in terms of what they’re looking for from their peers. [7]

Teenagers now spend an average of 8 hours a day on screens. In a UK survey, children were asked to report how much time they spent online each day. The estimated figure was higher as the children got older, with the highest screen use in 15 and 16-year-olds. [5]

Australia’s social media ban came into effect on 10 December 2025, restricting all users under 16 from holding accounts on major platforms, including TikTok and YouTube. Experts have emphasised that this Australian social media law could trigger a domino effect globally. [8]

That’s why we asked the question now: what value do children gain from in-person community spaces like an art class?

We wanted to better understand how they valued in-person spaces.

An overwhelming number of student responses contained the words:

Calm, friends, friendship, help, support.

Whilst we aimed to investigate the social aspect of Oldenburg’s third place theory, we actually learnt so much about the other existing pressures of school performance and expectations for their future.

Here are some insights, a selection from 472 respondents:

“It’s a space I can be myself”- art-K Student

“It’s a calm and relaxing time for me. I forget about homework and look towards art”- art-K Student

“It’s calm, and the people are nice, and everyone is respectful. There are lots of cool art supplies.” – art-K Student

“I find it a time to escape” – art-K student

“I have made many new friends” – art-K student

“It’s a safe space where no one judges you” – art-K student

So, through our anonymous survey, we have the data to confirm that our students find safety, friendship, and time to unwind whilst maintaining their passion for art. Whilst loneliness in teens and the rest of the population is a highly concerning and complex epidemic, we’re more hopeful that in-person connections still bring value to our lives.