Kauffman 1

Brandon Kauffman

Dr. Santosh Khadka

English 113B

24 September 2019

Individual Project Essay

With online apps and places all around, the third space is something everyone should

know about. Facebook and the gym both qualify as a third space, but what is the cause for that.

The third space for the gym and Facebook are both seen as daily socall routines. So what is it

that makes these two activities a third space? The more we encounter the gym or Facebook, the

more we realize it’s a third space. Whether you think it is private or public, there are plenty of

reasons as to why you may be wrong.

What makes Facebook part of the third space? According to researchers, Facebook is a

third space for multiple reasons. Facebook's platform is a public online chatting app. You can

text your friends, meet new people, post videos/pictures, and do much more. I interviewed my

grandma and she is a regular on Facebook. Like many others, my grandma knows Facebook like

many older people do. She told me that Facebook is a place where she can keep in touch with her

family who lives in Pennsylvania. You can be so far away, yet you can keep in touch like you are

not too far. She enjoys the environment on the platform itself because she can laugh and enjoy

the fun moments. One day when my parents had went to Las Vegas and my grandma had came

over to watch the kids, she showed me how most my aunts use facebook. She showed me the

videos and fun moments that they were having since it was my aunt’s birthday. Many people
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may see Facebook as a private place when they have a private account, but what they don’t

understand is that’s not true. My grandma is a private user, but she keeps in contact with friends

and family. According to the article “Facebook: public space, or private space?”, by ​Burkell,

Jacquelyn​ Facebook is not a private how you think it is. It is mentioned in the article “Most

young people are members of at least one online social network, and they naturally provide a

great deal of personal information as a condition for participation in the rich online social lives

these networks afford. Increasingly, this information is being used as evidence in criminal and

even civil legal proceedings.” This proves that even by having a private account on Facebook, it

does not mean you are safe to post whatever you’d like even if you think it causes no trouble.

Facebook will always be public no matter what. If you have a private account you’re still

public to Facebook. They are in control of everything really, so think again when you want to

post something wrong. Since Facebook has these online platforms that are open to the company,

seeing everything may get you into trouble. People wonder why they get banned from these

online websites, and they don’t realize that Facebook can see everything. They are allowed to

find things you do as an individual that may be illegal to the state and you can get into some

serious trouble. So maybe thinking twice about what you post should run through your mind

every time you consider posting. Now that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to have fun. All it is,

is a matter of being respectful and responsible. People everyday are using Facebook and believe

it or not, many people meet others online with this app. Everyone wants to have a good time and

enjoy seeing entertaining videos on the internet. Facebook may not be the best with it all, but it

has its times where it is fun and all.

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Facebook - Home |

Facebookfacebook.com

They gym is another place that is considered to be a public third space activity. Although

you may think they gym is private due to a gym being a private gym, it is public in many ways.

One of my aunts who I interviewed, is also a regular at the gym. She believes the gym is a place

where you can release your stress and just be you. It may be hard at times to get in a good

workout, but with her mentality the gym is her best friend. My aunt is always posting about the

gym and whenever she goes she puts motivational GIFS to spread the motivation. While it can

be a mission for some people, my aunt sees going to the gym as a routine for her. “It’s like a

daily routine,” she says. Gyms can be private or public for many reasons but they can be both

depending on how you see it. According to the article “A Comparison of Customers` Satisfaction

with Aerobics and Bodybuilding in Public and Private Gyms”, by ​Seyed Abbas Afsanepurak

majority of people found satisfactory​ ​in both gyms, as the tables showed an even result of

satisfaction towards both gyms.

If you are a member at a gym, you most likely pay a membership to have access to that

gym and others across the valley. Private or public, you are paying them to be there. Private

would tend to cost more since it is “private” as for a public gym being less because it is not titled
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as “private gym.” Now these aren’t the only gyms that we have. There are gyms at the park that

are free to use between certain times before the park closes, house gyms, gyms that require

memberships, and school gyms. While you’re at school there is a gym that has weights and it’s

all free to use. My old high school “chatsworth,” had a free to use gym but you had to be in P.E.

to use it. Going to the park would be your best bet if you wanted to get in a free workout, but

only downside is that you may encounter many people there because it’s a public park with a

free gym. However you may want to use the gym, there will be a flaw with every single one.

Only benefit you’d have for one is if you’re rich and have your own house gym that you can use

whenever you want with no restrictions or rules. So gyms are considered a public space when it

comes to the majority of people, because most of us use the gym with our memberships.

The top 25 gyms in Toronto by

neighbourhoodeventsintorontonow.blogspot.com

After all, using Facebook or the gym can be a routine for you or may not be at the end of

the day. Whether you’re a regular or not, being part of the environment is always something to

look at. You may also encounter private gyms, as well as public gyms, but at the end of the day

you do the same thing as any other. Yes you might not have the perks as a private gym, but who

says a home workout isn’t as good as hitting up a gym. Facebook works the same way, only

thing is that Facebook’s database can see everything you upload, mention, capture, and etc.
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Whether public or private, the gym and Facebook are a third space. Interaction will occur most

the time on Facebook and the gym too.

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Works Cited

Burkell, Jacquelyn, Alexandre Fortier, Lorraine Wong, and Jennifer Lynn Simpson. "Facebook:
Public Space, or Private Space?" ​Information, Communication & Society​ 17.8 (2014):
974-85. Web.

Seyed Abbas Afsanepurak, Rasool Norouzi Seyed Hossini, and Masoumeh Kalateh Seyfari. "A
Comparison of Customers` Satisfaction with Aerobics and Bodybuilding in Public and
Private Gyms." International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social
Sciences 2.1
(2012): 522-28. Web.