Why is everything a "space"?

Even thirty years ago I remember people talking about apartments as "a great space!" - I used to joke about it then. I was hilarious actually.

OP how do you feel about the term[italic] safe space[/italic]??

OP, stop invading my mental space with your nonsense.

OP, this much hostility over a word makes me think there is a lot of turbulence in your innermost spaces.

I don't think this was the proper space in which to have this conversation. 😝

I love dicks.

I like big cocks that invade the space beyond my anal space.

It does feel rather over-used, OP but it's quicker to say or write "spaces" than to reel off the complete list of areas, rooms, zones, facilities, social groups, clubs, teams, political groups, support groups, services, associations, etc

Agreed, OP, it drives me nuts too. The real problem with those people is the space between their ears.

It does a disservice to real space, which is outer space.

Is "space" a thing?

Everything that is not a space i a "Body". I hate that too.

Op I noticed the same thing. Strange how other DLers often have my same exact pet peeves.

It's a marketing term that has bled into our reality. Marketers adopt terms from various places (remember "curated"?) and then use them to death until everyone gets sick of them, then it becomes something else.

Ref: "Concept" instead of "Space"

Something to do with capitalism. Because "space" is a commodity, our language has begun to take one of those 'turns' toward money-based thinking. Ugh.

Everything about this thread reads "angry old man".

Everything about r15 reads like a sad 20-something who will OD before turning 30 because she just can’t handle it.

Real estate agents can now claim to be part of the Space Program.

Dumb Millennials.

Space is not empty.

[quote]It's not a library carrel

That's even more pretentious. Fuck off, OP.

Space is the Place

Does that mean they are Space Cadets, r17?

I don't think it should be called "academia" anymore. It's just too stupid now.

Humanities academia ruins anything it gets hold of. Are you a career academic? If not, flee.

Rent this space

OP - when you say you work in academia do you mean you work in a learning space?

I blame this Brazilian lion

Sorry, r20, but "library carrel" refers to a specific thing -- not a horrendously vague concept like a "study space"

This is what bothers you? Get help. Kill yourself. Or both.

R11, yes, "bodies" is another pet peeve. I often hear instructors discussing their "body" in the classroom, or more precisely their "gendered body" or "body of color" or "body of size" or "differently-abled body" or whatever.

Sorry, I'm not a "body"; I'm a person.

I need a safe space away from the OP.

I blame Kevin Spacey

But now that I think of it, it could be Sissy Spacek's fault

Learning spaces can include lecture halls, small study group rooms, library space (excluding stacks), reading rooms, labs, workshops, even gyms and locker rooms if there's a formal sports program. Classrooms are, well, classrooms.

BTW, Good Will Hunting also worked in academia, washing floors at the neighborhood college. Based in Massachusetts, maybe it was Macadamia.

"criticized for being white spaces"

[quote]Sorry, I'm not a "body"; I'm a person.

Mary!

Why is everything "content"?

"access to women's spaces"

What about the concept of someone "holding space" for something, such as, "I am holding space for trans people to express their right to sexually coerce cis people."

OP here, with another example...

Space is in a really good place right now, OP. So am I. We all are. The universe has a plan.

OP, watch this space

Why, OP? Because the speaker is inarticulate.

I think a lot of times that has something to do with it, r42. "Space" seems to have become a filler word for people too linguistically lazy to think of a more precise word.

"I am holding space for trans people to express their right to sexually coerce cis people."

What about that, R38? It is bigoted, but more to the point of this thread, it is a clumsy metaphor. Inarticulate. With what is the speaker "holding" space? An invisible force field?

"I insist that trans people be free here to express...." Try that. Because that is what the speaker is doing. Just say it.

Thanks, r44. You get it ...

It is the final frontier, you know.

It's academia, OP. I'm in academia swell, OP. Universities and colleges have embraced marketing and business models to attract and to retain students. Freshmen are now referred to as "First Year students." And then, there is the "First Year Experience."

I've noticed more and more students prefer to study in groups rather than individually. For some disciplines, that can be necessary, while in others, it's not. This generation of college students may fear being alone. They may have a need for constant contact. Technology and social media may be driving this...shaping how individuals interact with each other. Hence, we have 'spaces" to facilitate that.

Hence? "spaces" does not logically follow from any of that. It's a generic and, ultimately, inarticulate term. Every place is a 'space.' Every last one of them.

And business models have nothing to do with the inherent problem with the word "freshMEN." It most cases, it was a fine description of most incoming classes. A hundred years ago. Its time has passed.

Shorter OP: Get off of My Lawn Space!

"Space" is the word du jour in higher education and corporate America.

Another example: "digital space" instead of "online" or a more precise word -- ie, "We communicated in a digital space" as opposed to "I presented hole via a DM."

And don't get me started on "piece". The next piece I'm going to do for you yadda yadda

I know this is a really old thread, and not sure why it got bumped, but one of the things I've noticed about our regulars who claim to be in academia is that they never seem to be up on any trends, not even ones that are old. This whole "space" thing started in the 80s, for example, and the term "first-year students" was used when I was in college in 1991.

R53 Academia is a hole. The vocational college I'm currently in, though, is at least somewhat up-to-date, if only because it recognizes technological trends are absolutely necessary to keep up on or else the students are completely useless graduates. I'm in a tech-using (but also design focused) program and the curriculum is a mix of things only 1-2 years old (likely pushed by modern minded profs) and things 5+ years old (by old design fogies that somehow think print media can survive).

Yes the oldest-minded today are stuck in the 80s-90s, otherwise it is generally a 00s culture, and only rarely modernized to 10s. But sometimes colleges justify their 'need' to raise fees on 'well we're building this very new tech-oriented building/library/etc and totally modernizing our programs (aka relying more on part-time profs, learning apps/websites, and bare-boning our rooms but upgrading our Internet), so it has to be done'.

I have also noticed many liking to study in groups. But it isn't just for socializing - it is to have the 1-2 knowledgeable people spread that knowledge to everyone else. Or if not knowledge, then answers ;).

Sick of it, too.

Why is anyone you don't like a narcissist?

Two things:

1. Shows like Marie Kondo's Tidying Up illustrate this trend. It's all about cleaning your "space." Enough. I don't have a "space." I have an apartment. Some people have houses.

2. I also find it annoying when people talk about "digital spaces." "Our discussions in digital spaces." No, our discussions are online. "Digital space" makes the user sound rather vacuous.

I just read it again!

Linguistically lazy.

OP, the nice thing about the English language is that we have no academy dictating usage, so annoying word fads do come along but they also go away. This too shall pass.

A recent example from Slate:

[quote]These shifting consumer demands have also led to some of the most significant changes in the pet-food industry in the past hundred years as previously unheard-of diets have come to dominate the space.

A particularly egregious example:

[quote]Are any of you (or your institutions) doing novel things in the space of grad student mental health / wellness?

OP types like they take up too much space! (is this the correct parlance for "fat"?)