Death of the dining table: Why Aussies are choosing to eat elsewhere
Only 54 per cent of Australians eat at the dining table most often, taste.com.au's Dinner Heroes survey found.
Of that, Boomers were most likely to participate in more formal dining, closely followed by families with both young and older children.
The survey conducted for Australia's number one online cooking resource found 27 per cent of people eat their dinner while seated on the couch, while 10 per cent don't make it past the kitchen bench.
A quarter of people living in share houses, and 19 per cent of those living at home with family, choose to eat in their bedrooms.
Senior Lecturer in Public Health Dr Catharine Flemming said young people eating in their bedrooms is a product of their addiction to devices, but also the stage of life they are in where 'independence and autonomy starts to creep in'.
'But then it almost becomes an important teachable moment for parents to say 'hey devices away, this is dinner time, we are all going to have dinner together, we're all going to sit down',' Dr Flemming told news.com.au.
'Because evidence also shows just reaching out from a wellbeing perspective to children in that mealtime is really important to see their mental health, as well as their nutrition.
'It's a moment where we can pause (and say), 'hey, how's your day?'
'We are all busy. It's no one's fault, we are all busy and it's just hard but it might be good for families to say 'not every night but at least three times a week, we are going to have a family meal and sit down together'.'
Dr Flemming, from Western Sydney University, said while eating dinner together at a dining table is optimal, reality is not everyone these days has room for a dining table.
'With downsizing, everything is shrinking, so we are losing that connectivity of that family meal time, which is best around a table if possible,' Dr Flemming said.
'But even if you don't have that space, you might be in a small inner-city apartment – at least turn the TV the off.
'You might be sat on the lounge or at the bench … even sit on the floor with cushions if you don't have a space for a table but that coming together is what is important'.
Screens have become second nature at dinner, with 76 per cent of respondents watching television or a streaming service while eating.
Those who eat alone are the most regular TV watchers at 45 per cent closely followed by Boomers at 43 per cent.
One in five young people are the most likely to be scrolling on an electronic device while eating dinner.
Leading renovation expert Cherie Barber said the results come as no surprise.
'The dining room is on life support – if not six foot under already,' Ms Barber told news.com.au.
'(It) has now become like a museum piece for a couple of reasons: first of all, we just all lead super busy, digital lives these days.
'A lot of people spend a large portion of their time each day on all of those various channels,' she said.
'If you're working a full-time job and then you go home, most people are scrolling, they're checking out what their friends are doing, they might be watching Netflix or looking at the latest thing on TikTok – so this old tradition of sitting around the table with your family has almost died because of the busy digital lives that we lead.'
With many Aussies living in smaller homes now due to housing affordability, there has been a rise in multifunctional spaces, Ms Barber said.
'It is a real luxury to have a formal dining room, and so people are not okay to have a dining table sitting in a room that's only used once a week, or potentially never,' she said.
'Those dining room rooms are now being converted for the most part to home offices with a lot more people working from home these days.
'Space is at a premium.'
The Space Invaders star believes furniture is another driving force behind the switch.
'The reality is our couches are comfier these days (and) a lot of people have big screen TVs in almost every room,' she said.
'Before we used to sit at the dining table as a family and eat, but these days, because our furniture is so comfortable and more multifunctional it's made the dining table a very redundant piece of furniture in your house.
'A formal dining chair just doesn't compete with a really plush couch or a bed in a lot of cases.'
Ms Barber said it was at least 15 to 20 years ago since she last designed a formal dining room in one of her projects.
'There's big design shifts going on as well … it's not unusual to see a big island bench now that has six dining chairs or six stools built under the kitchen island bench,' she added.
'We're definitely a nation that is leaning more towards casual dining rather than formal dining.'
Wherever you are eating your dinner, the dinner experts at taste.com.au have teamed up Coles to create 20 brand-new, flavour-packed Dinner Heroes recipes that are quick, simple and delicious.
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