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Term: Shared seating arrangements.

Look: Long, awkward and back in fashion.

The Return of Communal Eating? Oh no. The Sole Appropriate Location for Long Benches is the School Canteen

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? Gen Z, it seems. Research indicates 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 boomers".

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before You Start Harrumphing About the Youth of Today

Communal eating in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the WWII, in fact – 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?

This might seem strange to you, I know, but communal tables can be fun! As Pablo Rivero 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 Having Dinner Interrupted by Someone Explaining Loudly 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 nano-influencer capturing you in the background of their reel as they massacre a salad? You have to remember: 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, hiking outings 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.

This may not appeal to you, but many youths feel isolated (47% of them, according to an Oxfam study released this summer). In a 2023 US report a third of males aged between 18 and 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week. Isn't it positive they’re getting out and sharing meals with new people?

Perhaps. Research Shows Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Additionally the Resy survey points out another advantage: one in seven survey respondents said they’d found a romantic partner at a shared meal event. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this offers a chance for a unplanned "meat-cute".

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

Mission accomplished.

Appropriate comment: "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."