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Name: Shared seating arrangements.

Look: Long, awkward and back in fashion.

Communal Dining is Back? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location for Long Benches is the Cafeteria

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? Gen Z, it seems. According to data from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they like shared seating, versus just six in ten of older generations".

A Sign of the Times. Before Complaining About the Youth of Today

Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the second world war, in fact – there were about 2,500 of them, backed 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 communal tables can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero explains: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The Enjoyment From An Interrupted Meal by Someone Explaining Loudly About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or sitting beside a fitness enthusiast eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a nano-influencer filming you accidentally in their video while eating a salad? Consider this: young adults – the most online generation, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of youth running groups, group hikes and crafting nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I Prefer Dining in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths They Have in Tokyo.

This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, as per an Oxfam survey released this summer). In a 2023 US report a third of males aged between 18 to 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone 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 More Often Feel Happier

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy survey highlights an additional benefit: 14% of survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a spontaneous "meet-cute".

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

Mission accomplished.

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."