Nowadays, many people love to dine out, while others still like to cook by themselves. Although the traditional lifestyle never loses its charm, I personally enjoy eating outside more for the convenience and the wider range of choices it offers.
To start with, it is highly understandable that a lot of people continue to cook and have meals at home. Undoubtedly, homemade food is often healthier and more hygienic because the cook in the house understands the importance of a good diet. For instance, when we do grocery shopping, we pick the freshest vegetables and meat products and clean them multiple times to get rid of any chemical residues and dirt. In addition, eating with families or friends at home can provoke a sense of togetherness and closeness to both the host and the guest; take, for example, the Christmas dinner at home. That said, eating at home is unique and irreplaceable for many due to the security and sense of belonging generated by preparing everything in person.
On the other hand, restaurants gained popularity for two prominent reasons: they save time and energy, and they offer all kinds of foods. The former caters to the increasing demand of modern city workers since most of them do not have enough time to prepare food and are always exhausted after work. Consequently, more and more people are inclined to eat the prepared dishes offered by their favourite restaurants. The latter is an even more attractive and irresistible driving factor. Compared to the laborious and time-consuming process of cooking exotic meals at home, such as Indian, Japanese, or Greek cuisines, it is a lot easier to find a five-star cafeteria nearby offering tasty food in ten minutes. Thus, the change in eating habits seems to be a natural outcome of social development.
To summarise, both lifestyles have their merits that consolidate their trend. Nevertheless, I personally fall for eating out because of the delight of saving the effort and the diversity of foods.