They develop anxiety because of the fear that they will not be able to pronounce the name of the dish they desireGoing out to a restaurant is supposed to be a pleasant, exciting and of course delicious experience, so why and how did it suddenly become one that arouses real anxiety among the younger generation?
A new survey recently conducted by the British restaurant chain Prezzo (a chain specializing in Italian food), in which a focus group of 2000,86 respondents was sampled about their eating habits, reveals that 67% of the sample who belonged to Generation Z (young people born towards the <>s to almost the present day) developed "menu anxiety," compared to <>% of all other respondents.
Restaurant dishes, photo: Hila Dudal
The source of "menu anxiety" among the younger generation stems from several factors, including the price of the meal, the fear of not being able to find a dish they like, and the fear that what they ordered in the end will not appeal to them. More than a third of the respondents also added that another trigger for anxiety was too much supply on menus.
The survey also noted that 38% of Gen Z respondents stated that they would not go to a restaurant if they did not examine the menu before they arrived. They also added that because of their anxiety, they would often prefer to let other people book for them.
The survey also found that more than 50% of respondents between the ages of 25 and 34 develop anxiety due to the fear that they will not be able to pronounce the name of the dish they desire when ordering.
Gen Z is also heavily influenced by social media, perhaps because the survey found that a third of them will order dishes that will be well photographed online.
Prefer dishes that take good pictures, Photo: GettyImages
"We have an entire generation that's in bad shape," New York University professor Jonathan Haidt told The Wall Street Journal about the survey. "You're not creative, you're not thinking for the future, you're focused only on threats in the present, and whoever is at least partly to blame for that," he added, "is the culture of 'visibility' that prevails online today, one that encourages anxiety."
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