🔗 Share this article

Name: Shared seating arrangements.

Appearance: Long, awkward and back in fashion.

The Return of Communal Eating? Oh no. The Sole Appropriate Location for Long Benches is the Cafeteria

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? The younger generation, apparently. According to data from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they enjoy shared seating, versus just six in ten of older generations".

A Sign of the Times. Before You Start Harrumphing Regarding Younger People

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.

It Was Logical During Times of Rationing, But Why Do It Now?

This might seem strange to you, I know, but communal tables can be fun! As the Resy CEO explains: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The Enjoyment From An Interrupted Meal by A Loud Conversation About Their Therapy Revealing They Are an Empath

Or being squeezed next to a Hyrox bore eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a nano-influencer capturing you in the background of their reel as they massacre a salad? Consider this: gen Z – the most online generation, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, group hikes and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat in a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan.

You might not fancy it, but many youths feel isolated (Nearly half of them, according to an Oxfam survey published in June). In a 2023 US report , one-third of men aged between 18 and 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week. Isn’t it a good thing they’re getting out and sharing meals with new people?

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

Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Plus the Resy data points out another advantage: 14% of survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a communal dining experience. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this offers a chance for a unplanned "meat-cute".

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

My work here is done.

Appropriate comment: "Gen Z think communal dining ate and left no crumbs."

Don’t say: "Things are fine until food spills on your vintage clothes."