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Name: Shared seating arrangements.

Look: Long, uncomfortable and back in fashion.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location 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 young adult patrons say they enjoy communal tables, compared with just six in ten of older generations".

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 2,500 of them, backed by Winston Churchill.

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

It’s an alien concept for you, admittedly, 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 A Loud Conversation About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or sitting beside a Hyrox bore 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: gen Z – the most digitally connected group, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – enjoy organized group events. This same desire behind the rise of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and art nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.

I’d Rather Eat in a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan.

This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (47% of them, according to an Oxfam survey released this summer). In a 2023 US report , one-third of men aged between 18 to 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn't it positive they’re going out and sharing meals with new people?

Perhaps. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups More Often Feel Happier

Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Plus 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 unplanned "meat-cute".

That Joke Annoys Me Almost as Much as I Hate Communal Tables.

Mission accomplished.

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

Don’t say: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."