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Name: Communal seating arrangements.

Look: Lengthy, awkward and back in fashion.

Communal Dining is Back? Oh no. The Sole Appropriate Location for Refectory Tables is the School Canteen

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? Gen Z, apparently. According to data from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "90% of young adult patrons say they enjoy shared seating, versus just 60% of boomers".

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

Group dining in nationalistic eateries was a big thing during the WWII, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, backed by Winston Churchill.

It Was Logical When Food Was Scarce, What's the Appeal Today?

It’s an alien concept for you, I know, but communal tables can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero explains: "They naturally turn dinner into a shared experience," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The Enjoyment From An Interrupted Meal by A Loud Conversation That Their Therapist Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or being squeezed next to a fitness enthusiast eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a social media user capturing you in the background in their video as they massacre a salad? You have to remember: young adults – 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 driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, group hikes and crafting nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.

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

This may not appeal to you, but many youths feel isolated (47% of them, as per an Oxfam survey released this summer). A recent American study , one-third of men aged between 18 and 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn’t it a good thing they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

I Suppose. Research Shows Those Dining in Groups More Often Feel Happier

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Additionally the Resy data highlights an additional benefit: 14% of survey respondents said they’d found a romantic partner at a shared meal event. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a unplanned "meat-cute".

I Hate That Pun 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."

Inappropriate remark: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."