Status: 22.12.2023, 04:57 a.m.
By: Karolin Schäfer
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For Generation Z, a normal visit to a restaurant can apparently become a burden. As a survey shows, some suffer from "menu anxiety".
Kassel – Many young people seem to be familiar with feeling fear or stress when it comes to choosing dishes in a restaurant. This is about the so-called "menu anxiety", which mainly affects Gen Z. At least that's what the market research agency OnePoll claims to have found out in a survey.
Survey Shows: Gen Z and Millennials Suffer from 'Menu Anxiety'
For this purpose, 2000 young adults in the USA were surveyed. The result is surprising: Both Gen Z (born between the late 1990s and early 2000s) and Millennials (born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s) have difficulties visiting restaurants.
Gen Z sometimes feels great anxiety when visiting a restaurant. © Jose Carlos Ichiro/imago
Forty-one percent of the 41,2000 respondents said they were anxious when ordering food at a restaurant, OnePoll said. For boomers (born between the mid-1950s and the late 1960s), the figure was only 15 percent. "Although most people look forward to eating out during the holiday season, we know it can be stressful for some," Dean Challenger, CEO of British restaurant chain Prezzo, told the New York Post.
Restaurant visits scare Gen Z: Many look at the menu in advance
The chain had also conducted a survey of around 2000 participants. According to the survey, 86 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 would suffer from "menu anxiety". This compares to 67 percent of all participants. In fact, 34 percent of Gen Z respondents are so anxious that someone else at the table has to tell the waiter about the order.
40 percent, on the other hand, said they would not eat out if they could not look at the menu in advance. According to the survey, the reason for this fear could be the increased prices for eating out. The worry of not finding anything suitable on the menu or regretting the order afterwards also contributes to this.
In social media, this topic is taken up again and again. "I look at the menu in a restaurant as if I hadn't browsed it online before," one influencer shared on Instagram. The approval under the video is enormous. Many users can relate to the feeling. "I'll definitely do it," one user said. "It helps," she added. "That's me!" confirmed another.
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Gen Z has "missed out on important social skills in the real world" because of pandemic
Gen Z struggles to socialize outside of social media, noted Gabriel Rubin, a law professor at Montclair State University. "They're digital natives, but because of Covid and other factors, they've missed out on important social skills in the real world," the scientist told the New York Post. That's why even seemingly trivial things like going out to eat could become a burden.
Gen Z is constantly criticized, especially for their apparent lack of work ethic. The S.Oliver founder also recently settled accounts with Generation Z. In times of pandemic and crisis, many of them strive for a good work-life balance and take their health particularly seriously. "To make a blanket statement that young people can do less, want less and are less willing to perform is usually simply wrong and does not help," Rhineland-Palatinate Labor Minister Alexander Schweitzer (SPD) told SWR.