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Term: Shared seating arrangements.

Look: Lengthy, uncomfortable and back in fashion.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location for Long Benches is the School Canteen

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? Gen Z, it seems. According to data from the restaurant reservations 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 You Start Harrumphing Regarding Younger People

Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the second world war, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, backed by Winston Churchill.

I Suppose It Made Sense When Food Was Scarce, What's the Appeal Today?

It’s an alien concept for you, I know, but shared dining can be enjoyable! As the Resy CEO explains: "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 An Interrupted Meal by A Loud Conversation That Their Therapist 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 of their reel while eating a salad? You have to remember: young adults – the most digitally connected group, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – enjoy organized group events. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of youth running groups, group hikes and art 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 (47% of them, according to an Oxfam survey released this summer). In a 2023 US report a third of males aged between 18 to 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn’t it a good thing they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?

I Suppose. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups More Often Feel Happier

Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy data points out another advantage: one in seven survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a communal dining experience. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this offers a chance for a unplanned "meet-cute".

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

Mission accomplished.

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

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