🔗 Share this article Shared Dining Seating: Why 90% of Gen Z Like This Trend Name: Shared seating arrangements. Look: Long, awkward and making a comeback. Communal Dining is Back? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Refectory Tables is the School Canteen Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? The younger generation, apparently. Research indicates from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they enjoy communal tables, versus just 60% of boomers". I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before You Start Harrumphing About the Youth of Today Communal eating in nationalistic eateries was a big thing during the WWII, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, supported by Winston Churchill. It Was Logical When Food Was Scarce, But Why Do It Now? This might seem strange to you, admittedly, but communal tables can be fun! As the Resy CEO explains: "They naturally turn dinner into a shared experience," and "You never know who you’ll be seated next to; that’s the fun of it!" The Enjoyment From An Interrupted Meal by Someone Explaining Loudly That Their Therapist Revealing They Are an Empath Or sitting beside a Hyrox bore chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a nano-influencer capturing you in the background of their reel as they massacre a salad? Consider this: young adults – 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. This same desire driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection. I Prefer Dining in a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan. This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (47% of them, as per an Oxfam study published in June). A recent American study a third of males aged between 18 and 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week. Isn't it positive they’re getting out and sharing meals with new people? Perhaps. Research Shows Those Dining in Groups More Often Feel Happier Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy data highlights an additional benefit: 14% of survey respondents said they’d found a romantic partner at a shared meal event. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this offers a chance for a spontaneous "meat-cute". I Hate That Pun Nearly as Much as I Dislike Shared Seating. My work here is done. Appropriate comment: "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."