Beyond the Screen: Discord as a Third Place for Identity and Privacy

Abstract

Previous research shows the importance of spaces away from home or work for individuals to be themselves, so-called Third Places. The present paper aims to investigate whether online spaces can be digital alternatives to offline Third Places and what role pseudonyms play in enabling this function. Using previous research on Third Places and pseudonym use in online spaces along with an online survey of 186 participants, aimed at Oldenburg’s Third Place theory, in particular the characteristics named in chapter two of Oldenburg’s book The Great Good Place, in which the author describes the way offline gathering spaces are important for people and their communities and which characteristics places need in order to function as such spaces, the present research focuses on Discord servers as the potential digital Third Place. The research in this paper indicates that Discord servers can function as digital alternatives to Third Places, as even though not all servers encompass the characteristics named by Oldenburg, the potential to do so is there. The anonymity and privacy obtained by use of pseudonyms is shown as useful and at times necessary for Discord server members to use these spaces as Third Places, as it separates the actions in the digital space from those done under the legal name when with family (First Place) or in the workplace (Second Place). For the psychological well-being of a person, access to a Third Place is important, and especially when such spaces are rare in the offline sphere, allowing people to make use of online spaces under pseudonyms so their actions cannot be found by or connected to the people in their offline environment should be made possible. Many online spaces ask for the use of legal names by the online users. While these spaces still fulfil a function for the online user, they cannot be a digital Third Place, and online spaces that allow or even encourage the use of pseudonyms can fulfil the niche with the capacity for privacy and anonymity.