Shared Dining Seating: The Reason 90% of Generation Z Enjoy Them

Name: Communal tables.

Appearance: Lengthy, uncomfortable and making a comeback.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Refectory Tables is the School Canteen

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? Gen Z, it seems. According to data from the dining booking company Resy, "Nine out of ten of gen Z diners say they enjoy communal tables, compared with just 60% of older generations".

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before You Start Harrumphing About the Youth of Today

Group dining in nationalistic eateries was a big thing during the WWII, in fact – 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?

This might seem strange to you, I know, but shared dining can be enjoyable! As the Resy CEO notes: "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 “Fun” of Having Dinner Interrupted by Someone Explaining Loudly About Their Therapy Revealing They Are an Empath

Or sitting beside a Hyrox bore eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a nano-influencer filming you accidentally in their video as they massacre 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. This same desire driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, group hikes and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

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

This may not appeal to you, 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 hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week. Isn’t it a good thing they’re going out and sharing meals with new people?

I Suppose. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy survey 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 unplanned "meat-cute".

That Joke Annoys Me Nearly as Much as I Dislike Shared Seating.

My work here is done.

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

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