86% of Gen Z and Millennials have 'menu anxiety'

[Ali Gator]

The Cheesecake Factory needs to take note:  Gen Z  and Millennials have been suffering from menu anxiety.

'Menu anxiety' is triggered by the prices, selection, and regrets about what they ordered off the menu, according to a survey of 2,000 Zoomers by British restaurant chain Prezzo (which serves Italian cuisine). In addition, over one-third of Millennials said 'having too many options' on the menu is also a trigger. 

About half of the 25 - 34 year olds surveyed said what triggers their anxiety is not being able to pronounce the item off the menu, while a third want to order meals only if they look great on their social media. 

38% of Zoomers and Millennials have said they won't patronize a restaurant if they can't look at the menu beforehand. A third of Zoomers have said they've asked other people in a restaurant to order for them.  

 

Gen Z Have 'Menu Anxiety' and Ask People to Order for Them in Restaurants: Survey

WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM

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"Menu anxiety" can be triggered by the cost of a meal, having too many options, and not looking at a menu beforehand, according to a new survey.

 

[+ tassojunior]

funny, i get anxiety when the check is coming. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

This article really makes me want to use the acronym GTFOH

[marylander1940]

30 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

The Cheesecake Factory needs to take note:  Gen Z  and Millennials have been suffering from menu anxiety.

'Menu anxiety' is triggered by the prices, selection, and regrets about what they ordered off the menu, according to a survey of 2,000 Zoomers by British restaurant chain Prezzo (which serves Italian cuisine). In addition, over one-third of Millennials said 'having too many options' on the menu is also a trigger. 

About half of the 25 - 34 year olds surveyed said what triggers their anxiety is not being able to pronounce the item off the menu, while a third want to order meals only if they look great on their social media. 

38% of Zoomers and Millennials have said they won't patronize a restaurant if they can't look at the menu beforehand. A third of Zoomers have said they've asked other people in a restaurant to order for them.  

 

Gen Z Have 'Menu Anxiety' and Ask People to Order for Them in Restaurants: Survey

WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM

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"Menu anxiety" can be triggered by the cost of a meal, having too many options, and not looking at a menu beforehand, according to a new survey.

 

Strange people! 

If they have issues with the menu picture them choosing something to watch on Netflix

[Ali Gator]

Wait until they move on to buying a new car, renting an apartment, or (gasp!) buying a home. 

 

Side story:  I work in a university. In the department I previously worked in, I worked with about a dozen student workers (aged 18 - 22). One particular day, I worked with a sophomore student (19) and we had to close the department at the end of the day. It was her first closing shift.  As I was shutting down computers, printers, etc. I gave her a key and asked her to lock a cabinet door (we locked it every night, as it contained petty cash). She asked me, "Do I have to ?"  I thought it was an odd question, and responded, "Yes - you do that while I take care of the rest of the closing procedure". (This was explained to her when she was interviewed and later hired that she would be assisting with different closing procedures as assigned to her, when she worked an afternoon shift - she never mentioned an anxiety disorders with keys and locks). 

 

The next day, she told my supervisor that I made her 'feel uncomfortable' locking the cabinet door, because she has anxiety 'handling keys and locking doors'. No word of a lie. My supervisor, of course,  coddled and comforted her and told the staff we could no longer assign any closing tasks to the student workers. So from that day forward, they would sit and watch the staff member run around the office doing the time-consuming closing procedure by ourselves. 

 

I couldn't get out of that department fast enough (the coddling of these students was getting worse each year - they had regressed back to pre-K). As for the student - she is now a junior and she's an RA (which means she gets free room & board). Her 'duties' include securing the outside doors at midnight and making sure they are locked during her shift- otherwise she has to lock them. I'm so happy her anxiety was cured. 

I could write pages of what I have witnessed over the past ten years working for this university, and the different 'anxiety' excuses the students have used. 

[Luv2play]

My sister has menu anxiety and I don’t know why as she is fairly confident in most aspects of her life. She is a retired tenured professor from a good university. She has enough money she could order anything on the menu.  In fact she could afford to buy most restaurants, she is that well off, having inherited from three different people in the family.

But she can never make up her mind on what to order in a restaurant. Knowing this I always order first even though I should allow her to do so as I am of that generation where ladies go first. This solves the problem for her as she will then say” I’ll have what he’s having.”

We had lunch in a restaurant this past week and true to form she had what I had. I also ordered a Bloody Mary, which I don’t often have but just felt like it as it was a luncheon. Well she ordered one too. Had I ordered a glass of wine, I am confident she would have too.

[soloyo215]

Why on Earth do we keep acting as if Gen Z-ers and Millennials are some kind of human mutation, different from the rest of the human race? Anyone who has to watch their budget feels anxiety when something that involves incurring in an expense is presented, being that a menu in a restaurant or anything else.

Why is that news?

[+ José Soplanucas]

36 minutes ago, soloyo215 said:

Why on Earth do we keep acting as if Gen Z-ers and Millennials are some kind of human mutation, different from the rest of the human race? Anyone who has to watch their budget feels anxiety when something that involves incurring in an expense is presented, being that a menu in a restaurant or anything else.

Why is that news?

Because Boomers need to feel well about themselves by putting down younger generations? 

[Luv2play]

3 minutes ago, José Soplanucas said:

Because Boomers need to feel well about themselves by putting down younger generations? 

Of course they had a hand in raising the younger generations. Lol

[Bokomaru]

3 hours ago, Luv2play said:

Of course they had a hand in raising the younger generations. Lol

Boomers raised Gen X. And everyone knows Gen X is the last great generation. 😂 

No menu anxiety here!

 

But I guess we are the ones responsible for the anxiety prone snowflake phenomenon. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Bokomaru

[Luv2play]

49 minutes ago, Bokomaru said:

Boomers raised Gen X. And everyone knows Gen X is the last great generation. 😂 

No menu anxiety here!

 

But I guess we are the ones responsible for the anxiety prone snowflake phenomenon. 

You’re right about Gen X. I have 2 nephews and they are both of that generation. Citizens of the world both.

[+ tassojunior]

I think the anxiety has to do with making decisions and information overload more than prices. I'm also used to "fast casual" where the menu's on the wall and has 10 choices, I even hate going places where I don't know the menu well. Duck dishes at le Diplomat and Linguini Lobster Cardinale at Fliomena in DC. Why care about any of the other 50 choices? I get crushed by decision anxiety all the time. And 100% when I "just flip a coin" I end up with the worst decision.

[SouthOfTheBorder]

9 hours ago, soloyo215 said:

Why on Earth do we keep acting as if Gen Z-ers and Millennials are some kind of human mutation, different from the rest of the human race?

their minds function differently than generations before - mainly because they grew up with computers & since 2007 with ubiquitous IPhones & similar screens everywhere all the time.  They don’t have the same attention spans, ability to focus or critical-thinking skills.  that’s not a bad thing because the workplace has changed & multi-tasking among several screens is common & necessary. 

I’m not surprised at indecision when confronted with a menu - that generation needs to have validation/likes for the things they choose & like themselves. it’s the result of an onslaught of digital information that they never turn off. 

It’s not a put-down to recognize the changes & why they’re happening.  We are the outliers now, not them. 

[Jamie21]

Best to be vegetarian. 90% of the choices are off the menu for you. Much simpler. 

[mike carey]

37 minutes ago, Jamie21 said:

Best to be vegetarian. 90% of the choices are off the menu for you. Much simpler. 

Better yet, be a vegan. That way there's no menu anxiety, AND you have something you can talk about loudly in the restaurant! (sniggers to oneself)

[maninsoma]

Apparently anxiety is the "in" condition, and it certainly isn't limited to Gen Z and Millennials.  Just look at the normalization of "emotional support animals."  It must be terrible to be so emotionally fragile that you cannot shop for groceries without your dog.

[ICTJOCK]

I tend to "trade in a narrow range",   meaning that I tend to order the same thing off the menu on a repeat basis.   I don't care if I can pronounce the name,  so long as I know what the item is.    Calorie content and other relevant info is helpful.

[+ Pensant]

They’re also whining about basic training and mean drill sergeants and shitty food on TikTok and other social media.

[mike carey]

8 minutes ago, Pensant said:

They’re also whining about basic training and mean drill sergeants and shitty food on TikTok and other social media.

I always thought that 'mean drill sergeants' was a tautology.

[soloyo215]

21 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

Because Boomers need to feel well about themselves by putting down younger generations? 

According to who? So far the complains that I hear are reasonable, by the way, that's a word that the younger generation seem to have taken out of their vocabulary.

[soloyo215]

12 hours ago, SouthOfTheBorder said:

their minds function differently than generations before - mainly because they grew up with computers & since 2007 with ubiquitous IPhones & similar screens everywhere all the time.  They don’t have the same attention spans, ability to focus or critical-thinking skills.  that’s not a bad thing because the workplace has changed & multi-tasking among several screens is common & necessary. 

I’m not surprised at indecision when confronted with a menu - that generation needs to have validation/likes for the things they choose & like themselves. it’s the result of an onslaught of digital information that they never turn off. 

It’s not a put-down to recognize the changes & why they’re happening.  We are the outliers now, not them. 

I don't think so. I grew up with computers (first PC I had was in 1985, first mobiule phone I had was in 1987). Been using electronic devices for over four decades. Those differences are just cultural. This presenting an issue that all people have regardless of age. Indecision and anxiety about reading a menu is not a generation problem.

[+ José Soplanucas]

20 minutes ago, soloyo215 said:

I don't think so. I grew up with computers (first PC I had was in 1985, first mobiule phone I had was in 1987). Been using electronic devices for over four decades. Those differences are just cultural. This presenting an issue that all people have regardless of age. Indecision and anxiety about reading a menu is not a generation problem.

lol. According to who?

 

[CuriousByNature]

What concerns me is that the ability to take decisive and appropriate action is a key component of effective leadership.  Those with a compassionate leaning seem to have become so overwhelmed with political correctness and wokeness that any decision they face produces high levels of anxiety.  That leaves the least compassionate people within the future generations to become the decision makers, and they are the one's that will have a disproportionate influence on how society is shaped.  

[SouthOfTheBorder]

my 27 year old nephew picked me up at the airport last year.  He'd been there dozens of times as a passenger & picking people up/dropping off.  He lives about 30 minutes away.  He couldn't navigate getting home without his IPhone & maps.  (It wasn't about avoiding traffic - he didn't know the way) The reliance of technology was complete & total - and that is typical of younger people.  They've grown up relying on handheld smartphones for the most basic things & no longer can function without.

Then layer on social media with the need for constant validation & affirmation of their choices.

It's not hard to see why they have trouble with basic tasks & choices that are outside what their phones tell them to do.

Edited December 19, 2023 by SouthOfTheBorder

[+ Charlie]

Given all the questions here about different providers on Rentmen, I'd say that most members here--regardless of generation--have their own version of menu anxiety among expensive choices.