Third places and 'no buy zones'

Like many modern-day working parents, I have often wondered how Gen XYZ in the Philippines manage to sustain the habit of frequenting coffee shops and coffee bars, especially those who are still in school or non-working family members.

- CITO BELTRAN

At the beginning, I was paying attention to the different forms of coffee-based concoctions that the "kids" were buying. I saw it as a trend or "uso" that was costly, perhaps fattening, and surely an added expense for parents. But I thought, it's compensation for the lack of parenting. I assumed that with their limited allowances, "baon" or budget, it was a spending choice to hang out at a coffee shop and scrimp on other things like clothes, or movies, etc. But still, I worried how such a "lifestyle" is unsustainable, unnecessary and eventually costly.

I was never harshly critical about the trend or Gen Z hanging out at coffee shops. I was simply curious how the "culture" held together.

Then one day, while sharing my thoughts with my daughter Hannah, she told me about "Third Places."

"Third Places" is not about coming in "third" in a race nor is it about the "third sex." It is about a third place that is an established destination, especially for Gen Z. It is literally a go-to place for Gen XYZ where the coffee concoctions are collaterals or side attractions. I found out later that the term "Third Places" was coined and promoted by the first "placer" in Third Places: Starbucks.

Hannah explained that for her and her friends, Third Places provided a break from the "constant" - namely home and school, especially in the Philippines where most homes are small, and family size is larger than in other countries.