Recently, California Partners Project published a report called “Belonging in a Digital Age: Teens, Tech, & Third Places.” The report is the result of interviews and focus groups of teens and caregivers across California about their experiences and perspectives on connection, loneliness and tech use. The key findings are telling: Teens overwhelmingly want to spend time with friends in person, but doing so doesn’t always erase feelings of loneliness. Teens who have no welcoming, available spaces nearby to hang out are more likely to use AI chatbots to replace that in person connection and find “emotional safety.” Parents and caregivers are more reluctant to let their teens go hang out if the third space isn’t safe and trustworthy. Teens describe welcoming spaces as being free or low-cost, likely places their friends would also hang out, and places they would feel safe. They also say if they have more opportunity to hang out with friends, they are less likely to seek emotional connection via AI chatbots.
A lot of this isn’t news to public libraries. This report can be seen as an extension of previous work including a famous report called “Hanging Out, Messing About, and Geeking Out” funded by the MacArthur Foundation in 2009 that caused many libraries to understand the importance of investing in separate dedicated teen rooms and resources, emphasizing a balance between letting teens have unstructured hang out spaces, coupled with encouragement to ‘geek out’ with some of the emerging digital media of the day.
What this new report does reinforce is the need for these dedicated third spaces and resources that teens can use to connect with each other, in person, in ways that can combat loneliness and feelings of disconnection. It also emphasizes that an AI chatbot should not be any teenager’s ‘default’ emotional support relationship. This is where Santa Cruz Public Libraries play an important role, with most of our renovated libraries having separate teen spaces, including the new Downtown Santa Cruz Library. These are free, welcoming, trustworthy spaces that are more than just books, they can allow teens to hang out and connect with each other rather than chatbots, fostering a sense of connection, safety and independence as they move closer to adulthood.
If you are a teen or have a teenager in your life, we encourage you to explore these spaces to see what they can offer you!
Christopher Platt
