我兩歲的孩子不大愿意與他人分享。打開一袋Goldfish零食,運氣好的話,自己能吃到一兩塊。然而幸運的是,由于我兒子大部分時間都在家里呆著,因此與以前相比,他基本上無需進行分享。
我兒子的灣區看護中心在3月中旬關閉,離開群體的他,對于分享的學習和應用機會也隨之煙消云散。這對于幼童來說是重要的一課。然而最近我一直在思考:疫情及其給人們生活帶來的所有新限制,如何削減了我們成年人學習分享的機會。例如,作為曾幾何時分享得最多的必需品之一,食物在個人或職場領域都已不再是公共分享物品。
在線企業餐飲服務公司ezCater市場負責人黛安?斯文特表示:“辦公室不會再擺放玻璃瓶裝的大罐小熊軟糖。”這家總部位于波士頓的公司一開始因眾多州分店的關閉而受到沖擊,如今正努力重振其業務。上個月,ezCater推出了Relish這項服務,它以無接觸交付方式派送獨立包裝食品,繼而讓各大公司能夠繼續在公司內部或遠程為員工提供餐飲。這對于餐飲公司來說一個明智之舉,同時也顯示了用餐習慣隨之發生的必要轉變,它已不再是以往在眾多公司食堂和午餐餐廳常見的那種家庭共享式餐飲和自助餐。
的確,疫情不只是影響了辦公室員工的用餐習慣。與朋友的用餐聚會也受到了沖擊,至少在美國很多地區都是如此,那種并肩齊坐的紅酒品嘗或酒吧小酌亦未能幸免于難。
食品并非是人們唯一分享的東西,然而用餐是分享活動方面的一個典型案例,因為它是不可或缺的,而且我們一生都在跟餐飲打交道,這一點可能與搭積木不一樣。此外,它也是我們參與的最具社交性的活動之一,而且從孩提時代一直貫穿至老年,既涵蓋私下的聚會,又包括職場的聚餐。(孩提時代經常和我在一起的祖父母曾對我說,我不能帶朋友來這里,因為“家里沒有肉”。我努力解釋說,我8歲的朋友并非是來吃烤肉的,但依然遭到了反對。)
除了讓身體獲取營養之外,分享食物到底對我們帶來了多大的影響,我們又從中學到了什么?研究人員凱特琳?烏利和阿耶雷特?費舍巴赫在期刊《心理學科學》上發表了一篇調查,它研究了從盤中分享食物這一行為是否能夠加強兩個人之間的合作,并將其與個人在盤中獨自用餐進行了對比。果然,調查的結果顯示,“分享型消費能夠提升陌生人之間的合作。”
分享食物就像是社會的粘合劑。然而,在當今這個世界上,獨立包裝的食品依然存在,至少在可以預見的未來不會消失。即便在疫情消失之后,個人與組織也會養成新的習慣。誠然,這些新實踐的設立和執行有其正當理由,目的是為了保護我們免受傷害,但有些實踐不僅僅會改變人們的用餐習慣,也會深遠地改變人們的互動方式。
協作服務公司Slack人事高級副總裁羅比?科沃克在最近的一次采訪中對我說:“我們不會再擺放那種人們能夠隨意伸手去抓的零食。”停止在辦公室擺放零食聽起來可能也并不是什么重大新聞(說實話,這種做法可能早就該叫停了)。但在餐廳中和陌生人共用一個餐桌的機會也就沒了,而且也無法品嘗朋友的食物,因為我們現在對衛生問題非常在意。
誠然,食品并非是唯一擁有分享潛力的商品。由佐伊?利伯曼和亞歷克斯?肖開展的另一項調查審視了分享秘密對于兒童的影響。事實證明,孩子們可從分享秘密中推斷出很多東西,主要原因在于,與分享曲奇這類實物相比,將秘密告訴他人甚至更能彰顯雙方的緊密關系。(是的,曲奇是調查的一部分。)
該研究的合著者、加州大學圣芭芭拉分校副教授利伯曼說:“如果你看到人們從同一個碗里分享同樣的食物,你就能推斷出他們之間的關系。然而,我們還從非實物的分享中了解到了很多東西,例如分享時間和秘密。”(不幸的是,我并沒有太多的時間和秘密。)
這些無形的事物也可以教導我們去如何分享。這也是為什么視頻會議服務Zoom得以興起的原因。亞馬遜自有的游戲玩家流媒體平臺Twitch亦是因此而崛起。我們都覺得需要與外界溝通,去分享,即便如今人們不能一起用餐亦無法改變這一事實。
加州大學圣芭芭拉分校的利伯曼說:“人類是一種難以置信的社會激勵型生物。”
人類還特別有創新意識。Fast Company最近的文章稱,飲料紙杯便是1918年西班牙流感期間的“突破性創意”。不管相信與否,在疫情爆發之前,公共的金屬杯十分常見,而且由數百人共用。很惡心,不是嗎?不過話說回來,玻璃罐裝的小熊軟糖不也是這樣嗎。(財富中文網)
譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
我兩歲的孩子不大愿意與他人分享。打開一袋Goldfish零食,運氣好的話,自己能吃到一兩塊。然而幸運的是,由于我兒子大部分時間都在家里呆著,因此與以前相比,他基本上無需進行分享。
我兒子的灣區看護中心在3月中旬關閉,離開群體的他,對于分享的學習和應用機會也隨之煙消云散。這對于幼童來說是重要的一課。然而最近我一直在思考:疫情及其給人們生活帶來的所有新限制,如何削減了我們成年人學習分享的機會。例如,作為曾幾何時分享得最多的必需品之一,食物在個人或職場領域都已不再是公共分享物品。
在線企業餐飲服務公司ezCater市場負責人黛安?斯文特表示:“辦公室不會再擺放玻璃瓶裝的大罐小熊軟糖。”這家總部位于波士頓的公司一開始因眾多州分店的關閉而受到沖擊,如今正努力重振其業務。上個月,ezCater推出了Relish這項服務,它以無接觸交付方式派送獨立包裝食品,繼而讓各大公司能夠繼續在公司內部或遠程為員工提供餐飲。這對于餐飲公司來說一個明智之舉,同時也顯示了用餐習慣隨之發生的必要轉變,它已不再是以往在眾多公司食堂和午餐餐廳常見的那種家庭共享式餐飲和自助餐。
的確,疫情不只是影響了辦公室員工的用餐習慣。與朋友的用餐聚會也受到了沖擊,至少在美國很多地區都是如此,那種并肩齊坐的紅酒品嘗或酒吧小酌亦未能幸免于難。
食品并非是人們唯一分享的東西,然而用餐是分享活動方面的一個典型案例,因為它是不可或缺的,而且我們一生都在跟餐飲打交道,這一點可能與搭積木不一樣。此外,它也是我們參與的最具社交性的活動之一,而且從孩提時代一直貫穿至老年,既涵蓋私下的聚會,又包括職場的聚餐。(孩提時代經常和我在一起的祖父母曾對我說,我不能帶朋友來這里,因為“家里沒有肉”。我努力解釋說,我8歲的朋友并非是來吃烤肉的,但依然遭到了反對。)
除了讓身體獲取營養之外,分享食物到底對我們帶來了多大的影響,我們又從中學到了什么?研究人員凱特琳?烏利和阿耶雷特?費舍巴赫在期刊《心理學科學》上發表了一篇調查,它研究了從盤中分享食物這一行為是否能夠加強兩個人之間的合作,并將其與個人在盤中獨自用餐進行了對比。果然,調查的結果顯示,“分享型消費能夠提升陌生人之間的合作。”
分享食物就像是社會的粘合劑。然而,在當今這個世界上,獨立包裝的食品依然存在,至少在可以預見的未來不會消失。即便在疫情消失之后,個人與組織也會養成新的習慣。誠然,這些新實踐的設立和執行有其正當理由,目的是為了保護我們免受傷害,但有些實踐不僅僅會改變人們的用餐習慣,也會深遠地改變人們的互動方式。
協作服務公司Slack人事高級副總裁羅比?科沃克在最近的一次采訪中對我說:“我們不會再擺放那種人們能夠隨意伸手去抓的零食。”停止在辦公室擺放零食聽起來可能也并不是什么重大新聞(說實話,這種做法可能早就該叫停了)。但在餐廳中和陌生人共用一個餐桌的機會也就沒了,而且也無法品嘗朋友的食物,因為我們現在對衛生問題非常在意。
誠然,食品并非是唯一擁有分享潛力的商品。由佐伊?利伯曼和亞歷克斯?肖開展的另一項調查審視了分享秘密對于兒童的影響。事實證明,孩子們可從分享秘密中推斷出很多東西,主要原因在于,與分享曲奇這類實物相比,將秘密告訴他人甚至更能彰顯雙方的緊密關系。(是的,曲奇是調查的一部分。)
該研究的合著者、加州大學圣芭芭拉分校副教授利伯曼說:“如果你看到人們從同一個碗里分享同樣的食物,你就能推斷出他們之間的關系。然而,我們還從非實物的分享中了解到了很多東西,例如分享時間和秘密。”(不幸的是,我并沒有太多的時間和秘密。)
這些無形的事物也可以教導我們去如何分享。這也是為什么視頻會議服務Zoom得以興起的原因。亞馬遜自有的游戲玩家流媒體平臺Twitch亦是因此而崛起。我們都覺得需要與外界溝通,去分享,即便如今人們不能一起用餐亦無法改變這一事實。
加州大學圣芭芭拉分校的利伯曼說:“人類是一種難以置信的社會激勵型生物。”
人類還特別有創新意識。Fast Company最近的文章稱,飲料紙杯便是1918年西班牙流感期間的“突破性創意”。不管相信與否,在疫情爆發之前,公共的金屬杯十分常見,而且由數百人共用。很惡心,不是嗎?不過話說回來,玻璃罐裝的小熊軟糖不也是這樣嗎。(財富中文網)
譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
My 2-year-old has a hard time sharing. Open a bag of Goldfish crackers, and good luck getting one or two for yourself. Lucky for him, now that he spends most of his time within the confines of our home, he no longer has to do nearly as much sharing as before.
When my son's Bay Area daycare shut down in mid-March, so did many of the opportunities for him to learn—and grapple with—the art and discipline of accepting that we don’t get everything to ourselves all the time. It’s an important lesson for toddlers. But lately, I’ve been thinking about how the pandemic, and all of the new restrictions the crisis has introduced into our daily life, has cut down on opportunities for us adults to learn to share as well. Case in point: Food, once the most communal of all necessities, is no longer a public good—in either the personal or the professional realm.
“Gone are the days of that big, glass jar of gummy bears in the office,” says Diane Swint, head of marketplace for ezCater, an online corporate catering service. The Boston-based company, which initially took a hit from the shuttering of offices in many states, is now trying to pivot its business. Last month, ezCater launched Relish, a service that allows companies to keep feeding employees both on site and remotely by offering individually-wrapped food distributed via contactless delivery. It’s a smart move for the catering company, but also indicative of the necessary and consequential shift away from more communal, family-style meals and buffets, once common in many corporate cafeterias and lunch rooms.
To be sure, the pandemic isn't only impacting the eating habits of office workers. Dinner parties with friends have also taken a hit, at least in many parts of the country. So have wine tastings or sitting at a bar, shoulder to shoulder with other people.
Food isn’t the only thing we share, but eating is a particularly good example of a shared activity because it’s necessary, and because we engage in it throughout our lives—unlike playing with blocks, perhaps. It’s also, inherently, one of the most social activities we partake in, from childhood to old age, in personal and professional settings. (My grandparents, whom I spent lots of time with as a child, once told me I couldn’t have a friend over because there was “no meat in the house.” I tried to explain that my 8-year-old friend wasn’t coming for the kebabs, but it didn’t go over well.)
Just how much does sharing food impact and inform us, in addition to nourishing our bodies? A study conducted by researchers Kaitlin Wooley and Ayelet Fishbach, published in the journal Psychological Science, looked at whether eating food from a shared plate, compared with eating food from individual plates, can increase cooperation between two individuals. Not surprisingly, the results of the study showed that “shared consumption increases cooperation among strangers.”
Sharing food is like glue for societies. And yet, here we are, in a world where individually packaged food is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. Even when the pandemic is behind us, individuals and organizations will be left with new habits. To be sure, these new practices are rightfully instituted and enforced to protect and keep us safe from harm, but some will not only change the way we eat, but profoundly alter the way we interact.
“Snacks that you have to stick your hands in to get is not gonna happen,” Robby Kwok, senior vice president of people at collaboration service Slack, told me in a recent interview. Doing away with in-office snack bowls might not sound earth-shattering (and frankly, it's probably something that should have been nixed a long time ago). But what about the missed opportunity to sit next to strangers at communal tables in restaurants? Or the inability to sample your friend’s food—another no-no now that we’re all hyper-aware of hygiene.
To be sure, food isn’t the only commodity with sharing potential. Another study, conducted by researchers Zoe Liberman and Alex Shaw, examined the impact that sharing secrets has on children. As it turns out, kids infer a lot from the sharing of secrets, primarily that passing secrets from one individual to another is an even stronger indicator of close ties than the sharing of a physical resource—like a cookie. (Yes, cookies were part of the study.)
“If you see people eating the same food from the same bowl, you make inferences around their relationships,” says Liberman, co-author of the study and an assistant professor at University of California, Santa Barbara. “But we also learn a lot from sharing non-physical things like time and secrets.”
Unfortunately, time and secrets aren’t something I have a lot of. But the point is, there are non-touchable things that can teach us about sharing. There is a reason why Zoom, the videoconferencing service, is booming. Same goes for Twitch, the Amazon-owned streaming platform for gamers. We all feel the need to connect—to share—even when breaking bread together isn’t an option.
“Humans are incredibly socially motivated,” says UC Santa Barbara’s Liberman.
Human beings are also incredibly innovative. According to this recent article from Fast Company, Dixie cups were the “breakout startup” of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Believe it or not, before that outbreak, communal metal cups were common, and shared by hundreds of people. Gross, right? Then again, so are in-office, glass jars of gummy bears.