In this country Lonely and Isolation There is a shocking fact: Americans are Spend more time alone – And, according to 2025 World Happiness Reportwe also dine alone.
The finding, released this week, relies on data from the American Time Use Survey and shows that in 2023, about one-quarter of Americans ate all their meals just the day before, an increase of 53% since 2003. The analysis also found that among all ages, including at home or at home, including at home or in restaurants, it became more common among all ages, but most were among the majority in the under-35 population.
“The extent to which one person shares a meal.” Jan-Emmanuel de Neveprofessor of economics and behavioral sciences at Oxford University, and co-editor of the World Happiness Report: “It is an extraordinary agent for measuring people’s social connections and their social capital. It supports people’s social support. It promotes prosocial behavior, and all of this in turn leads to it, which is a very powerful indicator – predicting people’s life satisfaction.”
Economic factors, like High income and Employment Status is often used as an indicator of happiness. But researchers found that rituals for sharing meals were more effective than job status and salary. “It surprised us as a research team,” De Neve said.
The most obvious driving force for solo dining is the rise of solo life. Share of single-person households in the United States It has been increasing steadily since the 1940swhen less than 8% of homes are occupied by one person. By 2020, this number has grown to 27%. But even those who live together choose to eat alone. The report found that in 2023, about 18% of Americans who lived with others ate all their meals just the day before, compared with 12% in 2003, a 50% increase.
With young people under 35 eating alone – a 180% increase over the past two decades, De Neve suspects that the trend reflects changing norms: College students choose to scroll social media on their phones at restaurants or when young people have lunch with their colleagues. As social media and smartphones became more ingrained in the 2010s, the less frequent people shared meals with others. (de neve has no explanation for the 2011 solo dining.)
Research shows those Eat with others happier Be more satisfied with life, trust more, have more friends, and be more involved in their community.
The discovery also points to an increasing number of individualistic habits. The pursuit of loneliness is “Self-care” may lead to increased isolation. The main reason cited by those who consider eating alone in restaurants in 2024 is To get more “me time”, According to Opentable and Kayak’s Consumer Research Poll.
The rise of solo dining has meanings at the table. Research shows those Eat with others happier Be more satisfied with life, trust more, have more friends, and be more involved in their community. At the same time, increased social distancing can lead to loneliness, which in turn may lead to Cardiovascular health risks And increases depression, risk and anxiety.
On a wider scale Lonely and Loneliness tends to reproduce distrustthis has had a profound impact on the situation of civil society. The simple behavior of sharing a meal with a colleague or friend can help the bridge split and increase happiness.
“It’s something very basic, but it has a big foundation,” Deniff said. “You understand others. You understand their politics. You make more sense about other people’s ideas. This reduces political polarization.”
