Shared Dining Seating: Why 90% of Gen Z Enjoy Them
Name: Shared seating arrangements.
Look: Lengthy, awkward and back in fashion.
The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Long Benches is the School Canteen
Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? The younger generation, it seems. According to data from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they like shared seating, versus just six in ten of older generations".
I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before You Start Harrumphing Regarding Younger People
Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the second world war, in fact – there were about 2,500 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, 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 “Fun” of An Interrupted Meal 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 capturing you in the background in their video while eating a salad? You have to remember: young adults – the most online generation, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – enjoy organized group events. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings 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 lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, as per an Oxfam study published in June). A recent American study a third of males aged between 18 to 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the past week. Isn't it positive they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?
Perhaps. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness
Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Plus the Resy survey points out another advantage: one in seven survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. 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.
Mission accomplished.
Do say: "Young adults believe shared meals are a total success."
Don’t say: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."
