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Name: Communal tables.

Appearance: Lengthy, awkward and making a comeback.

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

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? The younger generation, apparently. Research indicates from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they enjoy shared seating, compared with just six in ten of boomers".

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before Complaining About the Youth of Today

Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a major trend during the second world war, in fact – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

It Was Logical During Times of Rationing, But Why Do It Now?

It’s an alien concept for 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 A Loud Conversation About Their Therapy Revealing They Are an Empath

Or being squeezed next to a Hyrox bore chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? 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. This same desire driving the popularity of youth running groups, group hikes and art nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.

I’d Rather Eat in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths They Have in Tokyo.

You might not fancy it, but many youths feel isolated (47% of them, according to an Oxfam study released this summer). In a 2023 US report , 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 positive they’re getting out and sharing meals with new people?

Perhaps. Research Shows People Who Eat Socially Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy data points out another advantage: one in seven survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this gives them a shot at a spontaneous "meat-cute".

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

My work here is done.

Do say: "Young adults believe shared meals are a total success."

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