Lunchmate Syndrome

Oct 28, 2017 20:06
These days in Japan, "lunchmate syndrome" has become a problem.

Lunchmate syndrome is a symptom that causes a kind of anxiety or fear when there is no people to eat together at your school or workplace.

It's thought that people with this symptom think something like the following:

"A person who eats alone has no friends. The reason is because he/she is unattractive and valueless."

These people really don't want others to see the scene of having a meal alone -- some of them eat the meal in a restroom (this act is called "benjo-meshi" (便所飯 - a meal in a restroom)), and some give up on the meal.
ランチメイト症候群

近年の日本では、「ランチメイト症候群」が問題になりつつあります。

ランチメイト症候群とは、学校や職場で一緒に食事をする相手がいないことに一種の不安や恐怖を覚えるという症状のことを指します。

この症状の人には、以下のような思考回路が働いていると考えられています。

「一人で食事をするということは、友達がいない」
 ↓
「友人がいないのは魅力がないからであり、自分は価値のない人間である」

中には一人で食事をするのを見られるのが嫌で、トイレの個室で食事をとったり(「便所飯」と呼ばれます)、食事自体を断念する人もいます。
No. 1 Gil
  • Lunchmate Syndrome
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • These days in Japan, "lunchmate syndrome" has become a problem.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Lunchmate syndrome is a symptom that causes a kind of anxiety or fear when there is no people to eat together at your school or workplace.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • It's thought that people with this symptom think something like the following:
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • "A person who eats alone has no friends.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • The reason is because he/she is unattractive and valueless."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • These people really don't want others to see the scene of having a meal alone -- some of them eat the meal in a restroom (this act is called "benjo-meshi" (便所飯 - a meal in a restroom)), and some give up on the meal.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

That's an interesting posting. Personally, I eat alone all the time apart from lunch when my wife makes our mid day meal. Since I'm very autonomous, eating alone, whether it's in the kitchen, on the beach, in the forest, etc., to me is all the same, very pleasant. Personally, if I don't eat with others for a week or a year, I'd never notice the difference.

Toru
Thank you so much for checking my post!

Yes, this symptom seems to be common in Japanese, especially women in their 20s. I think that one of the reasons is because Japanese people tend to like collective behavior.