Britain is a nation of antisocial misery guts who prefer to watch TV or scroll on their phones than talk to their families at dinner. That, at least, is the conclusion of research that reveals the nation’s rather uncivilised dining habits.
The study found that a majority of Britons don’t even eat their evening meal at a table, and only 39 per cent do so.
Instead, almost half of people (45 per cent) typically eat their dinner on the sofa in front of the TV. A further 3 per cent usually eat in their bedroom, while 2 per cent said they normally eat standing up in the kitchen.
Even those who are sitting down at a table for their meal are not typically engaging in conversation. The study, which questioned a representative sample of more than 1,000 adults, found 55 per cent of those eating at a table were either watching the TV while they ate or scrolling on their phones.
This meant that overall, two thirds (66 per cent) of Britons are typically staring at a screen when they have their evening meal.
Only a quarter of adults (24 per cent) said they sat at a table and made conversation most evenings. The majority of people felt that dinner time conversations had become less frequent in recent years.
Almost half of people eat their dinner on the sofa in front of the TV
AZMANL/GETTY IMAGES
Trivento, the Argentinean winemaker, which commissioned the research, blamed “modern life, busy schedules and time pressures” for undermining family conversation during mealtimes.
Preety Johl, from Trivento, said: “Our research serves as a gentle reminder of how modern life and busy schedules can sometimes take a toll on the quality of family time, especially during mealtimes.”
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The survey also found that whether we are talking or staring at a screen, we tend to eat our food quickly. In total, three quarters (74 per cent) of respondents said they spend less than 30 minutes eating their dinner, while 10 per cent take less than 15 minutes.
The research also offers an insight into Britain’s dinner party habits, painting a picture of a nation that tends to prefer its own company than the company of others.
Nearly one in five (18 per cent) of respondents said that they never invite anyone around for dinner. A further 12 per cent said they did so only once a year or less.
At the opposite end of the sociability scale, one in ten respondents (11 per cent) said they invited people to dinner at least once a week.
However, when we do get invited to dinner, we at least tend to be generous. More than nine in ten people (93 per cent) said that they would always take their hosts a gift, with wine being the most popular offering, followed by chocolates and then flowers. Twelve per cent take a homemade gift.
Another bright spot in the study is that most Britons want to be more sociable. More than 80 per cent of respondents said they would like to switch off their technology for an hour to enjoy conversation during their evening meal. However, it appears that achieving this is easier said than done for most.