Toms View of the World

In a nice article on Wired News Momus discusses how different cultures both reflect and embrace the social role of the single person.In the UK, where going to a restaurant or cinema on your own makes you look like “Billy No Mates” and is seen as a highly negative thing. In other parts of the world, the “social” side of life is seen as more than things to do in a group, or a couple - restaurants which don’t have individual tables with 2 or 4 chairs, but instead a horseshoe of “places” around the serving area (I had the pleasure of eating in such a place in Dublin this year).

With the ever increasing numbers of “singles” out there, surely restaurants are missing something by not catering for them - sitting at a table, on my own, looking like a total loser is one of the reasons I don’t eat out. I generally even avoid places like Starbucks when I’m on my own (unless I just grab a take-out)

As the writer on Wired notes - Shouldn’t individualist societies cater better to the needs of individuals?