🔗 Share this article

Name: Shared seating arrangements.

Look: Lengthy, uncomfortable and back in fashion.

Communal Dining is Back? Oh no. The Sole Appropriate Location for Long Benches is the School Canteen

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? Gen Z, apparently. According to data from the dining booking company Resy, "Nine out of ten of young adult patrons say they enjoy communal tables, versus just six in ten of older generations".

A Sign of the Times. Before Complaining About the Youth of Today

Group dining in nationalistic eateries was a major trend during the second world war, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

I Suppose It Made Sense When Food Was Scarce, But Why Do It Now?

It’s an alien concept for you, admittedly, but shared dining can be fun! As Pablo Rivero explains: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The “Fun” of Having Dinner Interrupted by A Loud Conversation About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or sitting beside a fitness enthusiast chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally in their video while eating a salad? Consider this: gen Z – the most digitally connected group, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom started careers remotely – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of youth running groups, hiking outings and crafting nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.

I Prefer Dining in a Solo Ramen Stall They Have in Tokyo.

This may not appeal to you, but many youths feel isolated (47% of them, as per an Oxfam study released this summer). In a 2023 US report , one-third of men aged between 18 and 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn’t it a good thing they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

I Suppose. Research Shows People Who Eat Socially More Often Feel Happier

Talking to strangers is good for us, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy data points out another advantage: 14% of survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this offers a chance for a spontaneous "meat-cute".

I Hate That Pun Almost as Much as I Dislike Shared Seating.

Mission accomplished.

Do say: "Gen Z think communal dining ate and left no crumbs."

Don’t say: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."