Here in the Netherlands it happens but it doesn't seem to be the standard. It's extremely popular for students, and some of the leases remain after the students graduate and it effectively becomes a young-professional's home, and rooms get filled up when someone leaves, usually via FB connections. But actually applying to live with strangers say as a 29 year old is rare... either you have your own place, or one with a partner.
The reason I ask is because, theoretically and often in practice, shared living is more space-efficient. The living room is shared, the kitchen, the bathroom, the washer, all the little things, and then you attach 4 bedrooms to it, and you can get a footprint that's smaller than 4 studios with a similarly sized kitchen/bathroom etc. But it only works if, culturally, people can stomach living together with other people they're not family or intimate friends with. While undoubtedly many people want their own place, in a time (and city) of scarcity of space, I wonder if part of the solution should not simply come from shared living, rather than more space efficient solo-living. What's it like in your town?