Family Dinners Are Now Lasting Longer, And Here’s Why!

According to a new study, the average dinner time is now lasting longer than it did before the pandemic began.

The survey of over 2,000 people found that the average family meal has gone from 70 minutes to 85 minutes now — nearly a 20% increase in length overall.

The data also found that over half of families now get together more frequently than they did at the start of 2020.

Families on average are now getting together for dinner five times a week, compared to four times a week pre-pandemic.

And those mealtimes are becoming more important, with 58% saying it is now the most relaxing part of their day.

Most likely to report this are millennials, with 65% agreeing compared to 36% of baby boomers.

The survey also found that many now consider a close friend (55%), colleague (38%), or neighbour (36%) to be “part of the family.”

Now that we’re spending all this time around the dinner table, what are we talking about?  According to those polled, the most common activities families engage in while eating together include:

Sharing family news, gossip (41%)
watching movies together (37%)
Binge-watching the latest TV series (37%)
Catching up on everyone’s day (37%)