It's not really normal, but it's probably more normal than it should be.

Growing up, my family rarely used paper plates except in a few circumstances - parties where there are more people than you have plates for, and when going on a picnic. Aside from that we never used paper plates.

I wouldn't say it's standard but it doesn't surprise me. People who work late, have too much on their plate (pun), would probably not shy away from using a single use plate. I know I've done it myself (shame on me) but hey, I'm trying now!

No, it's not standard behavior.

You're most likely to see paper plates and plastic forks at picnics/cookouts and occasionally large gatherings where you may not have enough non-disposable dishes to serve everyone.

Every time I visit I’m shocked how much single-use plastics is used, daily. It’s part of the culture and thus hard to change

For some families, yes, it is.

Any idea on the demographics?

It's common in the rural southern United States. Big box stores sell hundreds of plates and napkins for a few dollars.

The justifications I've heard is that it's a lot of labor saved if the family is sufficiently large and the woman is expected to do all the cooking and cleaning.

No. Simply that I've visited people (I'm from the US) who do that.

I have heard similar stories from other people who visited USA. So it does seem to be a normal behavior.

As a USA-ian, I've never seen this and would be appalled if I did.

This was a first-hand experience of a German guy who lived as a exchange student in Florida. His host family would serve food in plastic plates to avoid doing dishes.

It's more of a poor (dare I say "trailer trash") southern thing in my experience.

> to save on dishes

To save what, money or labor? I fail to see how this could be economical in the sense "cheaper"?

I believe labour, all that time spent scrubbing plates...

And to think the dishwasher was invented in the US, :p.

Well, if you are comparing to a dishwasher. A cheap paper place costs about 2-3 cents. A dishwasher cycle is "pricy" if you consider the wear and tear, water usage, energy, and detergent.