25% of Young Americans Aged 18 to 24 Eat Every Meal Alone—‘A Virtual Doubling of What It Was Two Decades Ago,’ Expert Says

Americans are not eating enough meals together. According to the 2025 World Happiness Report, the optimal number of weekly lunches and dinners eaten with others is 13. And in the United States, people only share 7.9 of those meals together every week.

The picture is even more dire for young Americans.

Researchers looked at data from the American Time Use Survey, “which has a measure for the extent to which people shared meals the previous day,” says Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, professor of economics and behavioral science at the University of Oxford and editor of the report. They found that in 2023, 25% of 18-to 24-year-olds ate all three meals alone the previous day.

“That’s a virtual doubling of what it was two decades ago,” De Neve says, and it’s to the detriment of their mental health. The number of meals shared with others is “as predictive of their life satisfaction, essentially their overall well-being” as their employment status or relative income, he adds.

Here’s why he thinks young people aren’t breaking bread with others, and how they — and their institutions — can ensure they do so more often.