Name: Shared tables.
Look: Lengthy, awkward and back in fashion.
What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? The younger generation, it seems. According to data from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they enjoy shared seating, compared with just six in ten of older generations".
Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the WWII, actually – there were about 2,500 of them, supported by Winston Churchill.
It’s an alien concept for you, admittedly, but communal tables can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero notes: "They naturally turn dinner into a shared experience," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"
Or sitting beside a fitness enthusiast chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a nano-influencer capturing you in the background in their video as they massacre a salad? You have to remember: gen Z – the most digitally connected group, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. This same desire behind the rise of youth running groups, hiking outings and crafting nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.
You might not fancy it, but many youths feel isolated (Nearly half 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 had no contact outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn't it positive they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?
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 communal dining experience. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a spontaneous "meat-cute".
My work here is done.
Appropriate comment: "Young adults believe shared meals are a total success."
Don’t say: "Things are fine until food spills on your vintage clothes."
