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Name: Shared tables.

Look: Long, awkward and back in fashion.

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

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? The younger generation, it seems. Research indicates 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".

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

Group dining in nationalistic eateries was a major trend during the second world war, in fact – there were about 2,500 of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

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

This might seem strange to you, admittedly, but shared dining can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero notes: "They naturally turn dinner into a shared experience," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The “Fun” of An Interrupted Meal by Someone Explaining Loudly That Their Therapist Revealing They Are an Empath

Or sitting beside a Hyrox bore chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally of their reel while eating a salad? Consider this: gen Z – the most digitally connected group, 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 young people’s running clubs, group hikes and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

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

You might not fancy it, but many youths feel isolated (47% of them, as per an Oxfam survey released this summer). 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 a good thing they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

Perhaps. Research Shows People Who Eat Socially Report Greater Happiness

Talking to strangers 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 communal dining experience. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a unplanned "meat-cute".

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

My work here is done.

Appropriate comment: "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."