Why Gen Z are eating fast-food in one particular place
Ella Scott
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image
Generation Z are apparently ditching the dining table, staff canteen, and the sofa, opting instead to eat their meals in another private place, with a variety of reasons being cited, according to recently published research.
Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z are currently in the midst of re-shaping our relationship with wine, drinking far less than Millennials and Baby Boomers in general, and is apparently so ‘obsessed’ with a drink that Greggs came out with a whole dedicated range.
And despite a survey discovering that they enjoy eating out at communal tables, apparently, it's not their go-to when it comes to meal times.
A survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of St. Pierre, a Texas-based bakery, found that more than half of the 2,000 American respondents (53 percent) are eating food in the same place at least once per week.
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And where is it? Well, surprisingly, it’s their vehicles.
On average, Gen Z apparently eat 3.83 meals per week in the car, with pizza (20 percent), sandwiches (19 percent), fruit, and fast-food items like burgers (both 17 percent) all being cast as favourites.
Apparently vehicles are a Gen Z go-to for a variety of reasons, including: because they are short on time (38 percent); its a ‘convenient’ spot to munch when out and about (35 percent); because ‘its peaceful’ and away from the hustle and bustle of food markets (32 percent); and because they prefer ‘to eat alone’ (26 percent).
The study claims that 34 percent of people enjoy eating in the car, and that the most popular meal to snack on while in the drivers seat is lunch.
Eating in the car is ‘a habit shaped by busy schedules, but also by the small windows of time people create to pause and enjoy something to eat, wherever they are’, as per the researchers.
Speaking about the surprising results, Pennsylvania psychologist Geri-Lynn Utter told Fox News Digital: “Traditionally, meals occurred in spaces associated with family, social connection and intentional breaks in the day.
“Increasingly, however, the car has become a kind of psychological refuge, one of the few places where many people can be alone, decompress and step away from the constant demands of work, caregiving, technology and what I jokingly call 'peopling’.”
She continued, claiming that the car has become the modern day ‘break room’ and that it allows workers to temprarily escape from everyday life.
“The food is the reward, but the solitude is the luxury. The car feels private, authentic and free from social expectations.
“For a few minutes, there is no meeting, no email and no obligation to perform for others. The meal becomes an experience that belongs entirely to the individual.”
However, she added to the publication: “If so many people feel that the best place to slow down and enjoy a meal is alone in a car, what does that say about how stretched thin we've become?”
If you and your partner love nothing more than eating fast-food together in your car, then be warned: a study has suggested that the habit could spell some strange side effects.
In a paper published in Sage Choice, experts from German, Canadian, and Swiss universities found that couples who eat junk food together could be using negative behaviours to avoid conflict or cut tension.
Nick Sharp, a clinical psychologist and counsellor, told Delish that even though ‘shared experience builds connection’ the quality of that experience ‘matters greatly for long-term relationships and individual health’.
“Essentially, couples are combining two powerful neurochemical responses: dopamine from instant gratification, and oxytocin from relational bonding.
“It feels good, but it’s dependent on the activity.”