Do you fear eating alone in public?

[The_Bear]

Wait, you mean you are not suppose to eat Nuggest with ketchup? Wow, learning something new everyday.

 

If nuggets are meant to be eaten with chilli or ketchup, why do you think Mcdonald's came up with curry, bbq and sweet sour sauce? Do you seriously think you know better than Ronald?

[Lab4games]

there will be more to fear than eating alone when she steps out of school...

[RadX]

If nuggets are meant to be eaten with chilli or ketchup, why do you think Mcdonald's came up with curry, bbq and sweet sour sauce? Do you seriously think you know better than Ronald?

 

you go overseas see got curry sauce anot

[XALmoN]

No.

[Jman888]

If nuggets are meant to be eaten with chilli or ketchup, why do you think Mcdonald's came up with curry, bbq and sweet sour sauce? Do you seriously think you know better than Ronald?

 

he is a clown, thats why in Big M, you also see people dipping french fries in sundaes, hash brown with syrup

 

[The_Bear]

you go overseas see got curry sauce anot

 

they have Mcdonald's overseas??

[The_Bear]

he is a clown, thats why in Big M, you also see people dipping french fries in sundaes, hash brown with syrup

 

you are the clown. All Mcdonalds starts with the Big M. And I dun see people doing that.

[Throttle2]

Campaign message to chew on: OK to eat alone

NUS undergrads start Facebook campaign to tackle fear of dining solo

By Melissa Lin

 

ON DAYS when National University of Singapore (NUS) psychology major Agapera Chor cannot find a friend to eat with, she will just skip a meal or buy a sandwich and eat on the go.

 

She has never eaten alone in the canteen in her three years at the university. 'I find it uncomfortable eating alone,' said the 21-year-old.

 

Ms Chor is hardly the only one who shuns having a meal alone on campus. The phenomenon is so pervasive that there is even a name for it: solomangarephobia, or the fear of eating alone.

 

NUS undergraduates Heng Choon Peng and Jude Alphonsus Tan, both 24, and Sonia Oh Ting Wen, 20, found this sentiment so prevalent on their campus that they set up a campaign - 'Eating alone in the school canteen' - on social networking site Facebook, to raise awareness of this fear and encourage fellow students to look past the stigma.

 

Their aim is for at least 100 students to each wear a T-shirt with the words 'I dare to eat alone' on it and dine alone at any of the university's canteens on Jan 19. Each T-shirt costs $8.

 

'We want to make a statement that people who eat alone are not geeks or losers,' said Mr Tan, a final-year student from the School of Engineering.

 

The idea for the campaign came about after Mr Heng noticed that he had to accompany friends for meals because they felt too shy to eat alone. He claimed to have received weird looks whenever he had solo meals in the canteens.

 

'We wanted to provide people who are afraid of eating alone a platform to try eating alone, and also to let them know that eating alone is not as frightening as they think.

 

'After all, you wouldn't know that unless you try it yourself,' the final-year psychology major said.

 

In a poll of 150 students from NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU), about half of the respondents from each institution said they try not to eat alone if they can help it.

 

SMU first-year accountancy student Lee Min Ying was one of those who said they were not concerned about eating meals alone.

 

Ms Lee, 19, said: 'You just have to take them alone if you don't know anyone. It's fine and more practical. I don't see the point in seeking company.'

 

Several students polled were also not aware that eating alone was an issue to be concerned about.

 

One of them, Ms Lim Yan Han, a third-year NUS psychology major, eats alone on campus once a week as she feels it is more convenient to do so.

 

'I didn't think there was a stigma attached to it. People have various reasons for eating alone, so I don't think it's right to judge them.

 

'Some people have CCAs or lessons that end at odd timings like 4pm, and it's not lunch hour so they have no one to eat with,' the 21-year-old said.

 

However, the fear of eating alone does exist and there is a valid reason for it, said Dr Ang Yong Guan, a consultant psychiatrist at Paragon Medical Centre.

 

'Certainly, more people are afraid of eating alone than those who are not. If you eat alone, you give the impression that you have no friends; you are lonely, isolated and basically it is a negative impression created,' he said.

 

He added: 'Sometimes you may prefer some solitude or need to spend some time alone to reflect, or you are simply not in the mood to interact.

 

'But seeing someone alone does not mean that the person is lonely or has a problem.'

 

Dr Ang, 55, feels that how concerned one is with eating alone depends on his or her level of emotional maturity.

 

Said Dr Ang: 'It takes a lot of maturity to say that 'I don't care, I am not bothered by what people say of me'.

 

'The more mature you are, the more comfortable you are with eating alone.'

 

So far, more than 30 people have ordered the T-shirts for the campaign, while more than 120 people have indicated on Facebook that they will take part in the event.

 

But the campaign has also drawn some flak from students who asked if it would encourage anti-social behaviour.

 

In response, Mr Heng said: 'The event is not about promoting isolation, but raising awareness that it is OK to eat alone. Otherwise, it would have been an 'I love to eat alone' rather than 'I dare to eat alone' campaign.'

 

When contacted, an NUS spokesman said: 'The 'Eating alone in the school canteen' campaign exemplifies the creative and community spirit that can be found in our students.'

 

[email protected]

 

Additional reporting by Goh Kai Shi, Lim Yi Han and Neo Wen Tong

 

RAISING AWARENESS

 

'The event is not about promoting isolation, but raising awareness that it is OK to eat alone. Otherwise it would have been an 'I love to eat alone' rather than 'I dare to eat alone' campaign'.

 

NUS undergraduate Heng Choon Peng

 

No I do that very often.

It's lonely at the top.....hee heee

Edited January 7, 2011 by Throttle2

[RadX]

No I do that very often.

It's lonely at the top.....hee heee

 

 

most rubbish collectors eat alone too....stinkipoo

 

 

[Headshok]

these pple nothing better to do.

 

when in school, i ate alone quite often cos friends all got diff time table ( all dapow diff mods or cannot get class) and i eat because i'm hungry!

 

wah lau, eat alone also scared lose face, wtf sia..

 

hahaha

 

Cheers all:)

[Kxbc]

from what i see around me, ladies do not like to dine alone.

[Andylau1177]

better alone than with "Good brothers" right?

 

i prefer this scenario me , [bounce2] me [bounce2]

Edited January 7, 2011 by Andylau1177

[Yeshe]

i wont say fear, but the feeling is uneasy.

 

today, 1st time i was in raffles place during lunchtime after an appointment. basically cant find makan places, becos all makan place u need someone to "chope" the seats. if u are lone, u can forget about choping seats unless u are into throwing tissue packs on the tables n going off to get your food

[Forte3737]

can remove your shoes and put on the table

[Celicar]

can remove your shoes and put on the table

 

Why stop there

[Joseph22]

What there to feel uncomfortable.

I prefer to eat alone. Can eye candy all the girls without being disturb.

[Darthkk]

I always eat alone due to my job nature, and I find it more enjoyable as I can decide what I want to eat, how fast I want to eat and no need to wait for ppl after finish eating.

 

I thought only girls have fear on dining alone? They can't even go to the toilet alone..

[Throttle2]

most rubbish collectors eat alone too....stinkipoo

 

 

I shall let you off this time since you are depressed that your income tax cant even buy COE....heeeeheee heeee

Edited January 7, 2011 by Throttle2