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Name: Shared seating arrangements.

Look: Lengthy, awkward and back in fashion.

Communal Dining is Back? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location for Long Benches is the School Canteen

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? The younger generation, apparently. Research indicates from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of young adult patrons say they like communal tables, versus just 60% of older generations".

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before You Start Harrumphing Regarding Younger People

Group dining in nationalistic eateries was a major trend during the second world war, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred 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, I know, but communal tables can be enjoyable! As the Resy CEO explains: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "You never know who you’ll be seated next to; that’s the fun of it!"

The “Fun” of An Interrupted Meal 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 while eating a salad? Consider this: gen Z – 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. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, group hikes and crafting nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths Found in Japan.

You might not fancy it, but lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, as per an Oxfam study released this summer). A recent American study a third of males aged between 18 and 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn't it positive they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

I Suppose. Research Shows People Who Eat Socially Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Plus the Resy survey 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 "meet-cute".

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

My work here is done.

Appropriate comment: "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."