Eating on the Couch Is on the Rise
Are family meals around the dinner table becoming a thing of the past?
gkrphoto/iStock
Commence bemoaning the demise of family life. Meals enjoyed around the table are becoming a thing of the past, a new survey of more than 1,000 respondents has found.
While 72 percent of those surveyed said their families ate dinner at the dining room table when they were kids, only 48 percent of them say they do so today. So where are they eating? Thirty percent of respondents said they primarily eat on the couch, while 17 percent of them report mostly taking their meals in the bedroom – numbers the researchers say constitute a dramatic rise.
The timing and structure of meals has also changed, according to the survey, the first annual Cooking at Home Report, conducted on behalf of the smart-oven company June. While 35 percent of those surveyed said they had a set dinner time growing up, only 22 percent of them say they have one today.
“’Dinner time’ is any time,” the researchers concluded.
Still, people are cooking. Fifty percent of survey respondents reported cooking four of more times a week, on average, while 20 percent said they cook every single day. And cooking is still something we value: 86 percent of single men and 89 percent of single women said they found the ability to cook to be a desirable quality in a date.
Sadly, though, our confidence in the kitchen appears to be somewhat lacking. Of those surveyed, 44 percent said they were intimidated by the idea of cooking for other people – and Millennials are four and a half times less confident in their cooking skills than Baby Boomers are.
On the other hand, look at the bright side, Millennials. If the dinner you cooked doesn’t taste quite right, you can always hide it under a couch cushion … or your pillow.
Photo: iStock
Related Links:
