Y'know how in older movies and shows, kids always have a spot that's their spot? That's a third space.
It creates an area for play or community gathering that's public (doesn't require invading anyone's private space to use), easily accessible (no entry fee), isn't specifically designated as Working Space (you don't have to be Doing Something to use it), and isn't supervised (or only to a mild degree). Some examples of third-spaces for teens might include:
That one corner of the park where you and your friends always hang out;
The mall (the crowdedness can create plausible deniability to avoid charges of loitering);
The basement in That 70s Show (Redd and Faye mostly stay out of it);
The school library in Buffy (Giles is there, but the kids basically get to use it as their place, and he often acts as a group member rather than simply an authority figure);
A schoolyard after hours;
That place where everyone goes to park their cars;
After school club rooms in anime.
To some extent, kids' time in third spaces has always been limited. You can go hang out, but be home for dinner and make sure your homework gets done. Certain rules have to be followed (sexual morรฉs, rules about drinking/smoking, etc). You aren't supposed to act in a way that's actually going to disturb other people who might be trying to use the space. Adults face some limitations as well though. The guy who went out to the bar/tavern after work (historically a common third space) and never came home til late at night was violating a social norm about the use of that space.
I'd argue that the internet isn't inherently a bad thing for people to use as a third space. Gaming communities or Twitch chats, Tumblr, some old message board sites, and Discord servers can be healthy spaces to spend recreational time. The problem arises when you have people spending inordinate amounts of time on social media sites that are deliberately geared at parasocial relationships and unhealthy engagement. This chips away at the whole purpose of a third space, which is to facilitate genuine social connection with the rest of your community. Similarly, because online third spaces encourage primary socialization with people outside your physical community, they tend to also erode the formation of in-person community. It used to be that you'd spend a lot of time in third spaces with your co-workers, neighbors, or classmates.* A lot of gossiping happened, but gossip can be a healthy means of easing social tensions and resolving disputes without a direct confrontation.
Online third-spaces also, somewhat by their nature, tend to start invading private spaces (different topic, but this may also go hand-in-hand with the misconception of internet sites being private). Because of that, I don't think that limiting kids' screen time is necessarily a negative thing. Separation of home and third space is, imo, as important as separation of work and home.
Anyway, third space fulfills a genuine human need, not only for teenagers who are learning social skills and finding their niche in a community, but for adults to maintain and strengthen their existing social connections. Getting rid of them or splitting your social interactions in third space completely from your interactions in physical space puts strain on communities.
*Yeah, I know that this has always been different for people who were forced out of the social circle.
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