My parents are divorced, and I live with my Mom now.
My Dad used to insist that we all eat together, and he played s m o o t h j a z z!!!!!!!! :< It felt too forced, and like a routine/tradition much more than actually wanting to talk. Because we usually didn't talk much.
My Mom let's us eat when we want to, and where we want to... it's difficult, because I'm vegetarian, and they eat different meals than me. But we talk a LOT more and spend much more time together & do things more than I did with my Dad.
If eating dinner is the only time a family can/will talk to each other and hang out, it makes sense for that to be important. But I do things with my sisters and my Mom all the time, and we talk all the time... we don't really need a special, mandatory, scheduled time to eat together at one table.