Netflix Got Too Good At It: James Lynch

“In sociology, the third place refers to the social surroundings that are separate from the two usual social environments of home (first place) and the workplace (second place). Examples of third places include churches, cafes, bars, clubs, community centers, public libraries, gyms, bookstores, maker spaces, stoops, and parks.” (Wikipedia)

A third place is voluntary and free from expectations of productivity. As many mental health professionals point out, a society’s pattern of choices of who to spend time with and where to spend time can be closely tied to its well-being - especially in an increasingly lonely society. During the worst days of the COVID pandemic third places were denied us, and most of our lives were limited to our first places; second places became mostly virtual. Companies like HBO, Hulu, Prime, and Netflix stepped up to fill the Third Place void. Re-runs of FRIENDS stood in for actual friends, and the small screen, Zoom, stood in for the big screen, and movie theaters, already in decline (from 7,000 in 2005 to 5,500 in 2019) lost another 3,000 screens after 2019 (CNBC).

New habits were created and people who rarely watched TV on a weeknight began binging old episodes of Modern Family, Arrested Development, Peaky Blinders, and/or Game of Thrones. Netflix even created ‘watch parties’ so you could watch TV ‘together’ (but, of course separately). They got so good at COVID response that in the first half of 2020 Netflix added 200 million subscribers globally, 73 million in the US, the leader among subscription services. And good for them, because the pandemic wouldn’t last forever. As soon as the restrictions were lifted, or even lessened, people would naturally want to come back together in person.

Those cultural arts providers that survived the shutdown bet that people would come back to their third places, maybe even with a new thirst for being together, in larger groups, and maybe even more often. For these institutions to survive, subscription and membership would have to rise to counteract not only COVID-19 but the slow decline experienced since the ‘great recession of 2008’.

So now, in the early days of 2024, the critical national resource of arts and culture providers should be well into a recovery period, right? In response to a long period of denial, our natural inclination is often to over-indulge - that’s just human, right?

Well, not According to statistics from ‘Navigating Recovery: Arts and Culture Financial and Operating Trends in Chicago’, commissioned by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. “The American Alliance of Museums reported in June 2023 that two-thirds of surveyed museums report attendance 29% below pre-pandemic levels.” It further shows that In-person attendance at live performance and other cultural events are actually down 59-74%.

Why? People may have just gotten used to getting their connection virtually. Maybe because it’s easy: you don’t have to dress up, hire a babysitter, pay for parking, and the ‘ticket’ is paid for with a monthly subscription anyway. But is this new ‘routine’, this habit of isolation, part of the long-term (non-physical) after-effect of COVID? Is it too soon to understand the psychological and societal costs of withdrawing from group activities? More studies, more investigation, and more conversation will follow, of course, but how many arts and cultural organizations will still be here by then? Are we wasting precious Third Places? Can our society wait while we figure it out? Maybe not; it is already too late for many organizations, on pause or closed forever.

At the North Shore Art Center where I work, we have been luckier than most. After a long struggle we’ve finally seen art class registration returning, and even trending higher, than pre-COVID levels, and in the last 12 months we’ve been able to double our membership. Some of our classes were moved online during the pandemic, but in some instances, even the online participants will get together for a group meal from time to time. Artists with a home studio admitted that even though they had a space to work, they needed the camaraderie of the shared studio space.

Early on during the pandemic, we realized the importance of our role as a Third Space. Where we knew before that we offered education, exhibits, and events, the ‘three-legged stool’ or our mission, post-COVID we increased our focus on community-building. As we all know: a four-legged stool is more stable than a three-legged one. But not all of the entities in our arts and culture community are faring as well. So, in the spirit of the answer we seek, we are coming together as a community.

Several groups in Lake County have organized into a new entity, ArtsLink North, to be a one-stop-shop for the community to find out about what is happening at the Third Places that will suit their particular needs and tastes. Our group goal, aside from getting people off of their coaches, is to inspire, enrich, and facilitate connections to strengthen our communities through the arts.

We are joining in this urgent goal because we know that a healthy society needs to maintain our Third Places: places we can go repeatedly, where we can relax, enjoy, and feel less lonely. We don’t need to give up our Netflix subscriptions: after all, they are so good at it, but the opportunity for growth, challenge, and inspiration lies with your choice of a Third Place. Choose wisely.

A note about ArtsLink North – we’re still in the early stages and it’s not up and running at full capacity. Right now it’s enough that we’re on your radar. Until we announce the official launch, you can find it here https://www.lflbchamber.com/arts-entertainment/. In the meantime, visit any one of the many arts and culture providers on Lake County’s websites, like VisitLakeCounty.org, or choose the category that suits you best: dance, theater, film, galleries, museums, etc., and get off that couch!

James M Lynch is the Executive Director of The Art Center Highland Park, a member of the City of Highland Park’s Cultural Arts Advisory Group, Past Chair of the Highland Park Cultural Arts Commission, the current Chair of the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce, and is a former contributor to the Huffington Post, a TEDx presenter, and an Executive Coach JM Lynch Training & Coaching, LLC.