Domino's new personal pizza is a sad sign for America

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI Domino's is finally launching a truly personal pizza .

Yay! Right? Except that the company's announcement about it is weirdly sad.

Hungry diners will be able to customize "without compromise," it says, avoid "sacrifice," and share a meal without actually sharing.

Of course, pizza's not that deep, but that's sort of the point.

We should generally be able to come to an agreement on olives and pepperoni.

A growing number of Americans are eating by themselves — the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey shows that as of 2023, over a quarter of Americans spent most of their eating and drinking time alone , up from a fifth in 2008.

When people do end up gathering for meals, they're increasingly siloed.

We've figured out how to eat alone even when we are together.

Food hall-inspired startup Wonder makes meals from multiple menus out of the same kitchen, so no one has to choose between cuisines.

Delivery company DoorDash has launched a feature for business customers that lets employees choose separate lunches from different places and get them delivered all at once.

A 2026 OpenTable survey found that 52% of Americans say they'd rather order their own dish than share with the table, even as group dining overall is up.

We may be sharing space, but we're not sharing food — and, in turn, we're not sharing all the benefits that come with a communal plate.

"The act of coordinating itself makes people have trust and connection," says Kaitlin Woolley, a professor of management at Cornell University.

"Sometimes, this little bit of friction or this little challenge, it does help us to come together." Woolley means what she says quite literally.