Which is your third place?
The coffee shops are no longer your living room because try laughing out loud and you will get a blank look, if not a stare because you have invaded the audio frequency through their noise-cancelling headphones
Published: 04:01 PM,Jan 26,2026 | EDITED : 08:01 PM,Jan 26,2026
You have your home, and then you have your workplace. The ratio of time spent in these spaces varies from person to person.
Most people spend more hours at work than at home. The homemakers have to work at the same space. So they don't have much of a choice. And then you have the third place.
In the 1980s, American sociologist Ray Oldenburg developed the notion of a 'third place': a space for informal, free social interaction, essential to democracy. Unesco states that the concept has gained unexpected popularity over the years. Coffeehouses serve as a perfect example of the third place.
In Oman, we love the coffee shops and tea corners. Initially, it was the men who enjoyed the sit-outs, but women found their space too.
According to rentechdigital.com, there are 1,078 cafes in Oman as of October 15, 2025, which is a 2.74 per cent increase from 2023.
'Of these locations, 913 cafes which is 84.69 per cent of all cafes in Oman, are single-owner operations, while the remaining 165 which is 15.31 per cent are part of larger brands. The top three places with the most cafes are Muscat Governorate with 574 cafes, Al Batinah North Governorate with 255 cafes, and Dhofar Governorate with 149 cafes. The average age of cafes in Oman is four years and eight months,' the study stated.
The key factor is that we like to spend time there. The reasons could be many such as the ambience, the feeling of an outing and of course the flavour of coffee. Then came the trend of working from cafes.
This could be the very fact that the third place could be challenged.
The question that is being asked today is this — The 'Third Place' Crisis: Where do people go to hang out now that coffee shops feel like offices and parks feel at times, crowded?
The coffee shops are no longer your living room because try laughing out loud and you will get a blank look (the laptop stare), if not a stare because you have invaded the audio frequency through their noise-cancelling headphones. So now it is not a place of clinking spoons and loud laughter; rather, it’s a silent space because even the kids are busy playing with the mobile phones, lest the remote worker get disturbed.
I have my set of Gen Z friends who love to hang out and try doing something impulsive, and they will freeze. We have our sessions of chatting, doodling, discussions and laughter.
The global analysis is that the coffee shops have transitioned from social hubs to satellite offices. This is how it is described: You aren't 'hanging out'; you are 'renting' 15 square inches of space for the price of a latte. Oh, and the flavours of latte, from Dutch to Spanish, the aroma and taste is remarkable.
So should we have more public places to have more options?
Now I can hear someone say, 'Why do we need a third place? We didn't have it before.'
Actually we did.
Years ago, we had gone to Nizwa for National Day celebration. We were to host the live radio programme from there. As we were a ladies' team, we were being hosted by a relative of one of our team members. By evening they asked me also to get ready for a walk, and we walked and talked and visited houses in the neighbourhood. An unforgettable evening because of the friendship and bonding, the opportunity to experience the Omani hospitality, and the nature of the place. I can never forget looking at the water puddle after a gentle rain reflecting the full moon and breathing in the fragrance of jasmine filling the air in the garden.
Do we need more urban green spaces? Malls tend to discourage staying too long by not providing sitting benches.
The libraries — the last true bastion of free existence — are often treated as 'hush-hush' zones, not 'hangout' zones.
But in reality, the malls are becoming the new 'third places' where Gen Z likes to walk, sit, and exist, including working on their laptops.
Niche hobbies are also helping people find their own community. Artists are super good at this. Then you have crocheters, hikers, and trekkers, in addition to having climbing gyms, board game cafes, or community gardens. Apparently we are moving from a 'general' community to an 'interest-based' community.
Now think about it: do you have your favourite third place? Is it changing?
The good news is that we like to communicate and co-exist.