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Name: Shared seating arrangements.

Look: Long, awkward and back in fashion.

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

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? Gen Z, it seems. Research indicates from the dining booking company Resy, "Nine out of ten of gen Z diners say they like communal tables, compared with just 60% of older generations".

A Sign of the Times. Before You Start Harrumphing About the Youth of Today

Communal eating in nationalistic eateries was a major trend 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, admittedly, but shared dining can be fun! As Pablo Rivero 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 Enjoyment From An Interrupted Meal by Someone Explaining Loudly About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or being squeezed next to a fitness enthusiast eating chicken to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a social media user capturing you in the background in their video while eating a salad? Consider this: young adults – the most digitally connected group, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. This same desire behind the rise of youth running groups, hiking outings and crafting nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.

I Prefer Dining in a Solo Ramen Stall They Have in Tokyo.

This may not appeal to you, but many youths feel isolated (Nearly half of them, according to an Oxfam survey published in June). A recent American study a third of males 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 going out and sharing meals with new people?

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

Talking to strangers is good for us, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy survey highlights an additional benefit: one in seven survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this offers a chance for a spontaneous "meat-cute".

I Hate That Pun Almost as Much as I Hate Communal Tables.

My work here is done.

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."