Need to Know

Canada – Photography and director team Les Garçons has created a photographic series inspired by virtual dining.

Capturing the sensation of new conviviality and screen-based connectivity, the Distant Dinner series is centred around the common family gathering of an Easter meal. Presenting a long dinner table with central food items and screen-based diners positioned in place of each diner, the outcome stylises the often awkward and chaotic experience of digital dining.

Imagined as a way to document the new mealtime moments that are being shared via screens, Les Garçons provides an artistic documentation of the current reality of home-based dining – and a potential future for socially distant dinners.

Technology and dining are set to be increasingly entwined in future, as the food and drinks industry begins to embrace Home Eatertainment.

According to the Youth in Pandemic study of 9,000 young adults conducted by Vice, young people globally are turning to new digital platforms to help them stay connected with friends, family and loved-ones during the pandemic.

As a result, 47% have increased their social media use, while 14% have downloaded a new app to stay in touch with family. As well as social connection, young people are also feeling informed and empowered by the apps that they’re using. In turn, 78% of them want to consume coronavirus-related content online to keep themselves and their loved ones informed.

With so many young people currently prioritising staying in touch with family over having glossy digital personas, we can anticipate a rise in Anti-Social Networks focused on more exclusive social groups.