Maybe you’ve encountered it while ordering coffee or among your younger colleagues in the workplace: A deadpan, blank stare directly into your eyes while having a conversation with them. In the latest viral TikTok discussion, this signature look has been labeled “the Gen Z stare.”
A few examples below, if you’re not sure what I’m referring to — or maybe you know it all too well and are looking for a laugh:
Gen Z Is Coming After Millennial Burger Joints on TikTok
That’ll be one burger and upgraded truffle parmesan fries for $30There’s been a lot of back and forth about what exactly this is, where it started and why it’s become a common expression among Gen Z. A lot of generations above Gen Z seem to very clearly recognize this look, saying things in the comments like, “They kind of act like they’re waiting for their mom to answer for them…” and “They’re always buffering.”
As a Gen Zer myself (but, I’d like to clarify, the older end of the Gen Z range), I noticed that a lot of these examples on TikTok occur in customer service or office settings: stores, restaurants, cafés and gyms. With this, a lot of Gen Z “clapped back,” if you will (this essentially means they rebutted), saying that this stare comes from listening to Boomers or Millennials ask them obvious questions or start demanding things from them that warrant a look that says, “Are you actually serious right now?” or “I don’t get paid enough for this.”
But those generations on TikTok are still saying it’s more than tough customer questions, pointing to more serious and consequential issues permanently affecting Gen Z. There’s been a bunch of speculation about where this started and what’s to blame: poor socialization skills, the pandemic, access to technology and social media, social anxiety and lack of basic manners.
“I don’t know if the pandemic really messed you guys up or if it’s the iPads,” one TikToker said, “but we’re not talking about the stare that everyone gives a Boomer.”
Realistically, I think these are all legitimate factors that are impacting Gen Z’s socialization skills. Digital communication has definitively set Gen Z back, contributing to heightened social anxiety levels within this generation. Two-thirds of Gen Zers who participated in this survey said they felt like they needed to relearn social skills after the pandemic. We also all know there’s a direct correlation between using social media and mental health concerns.
And a lot of Gen Zers online acknowledge this — especially older ones who’ve also seen or experienced interactions like this one with younger ones. Some expressed that these interactions were due to Gen Z having a lower tolerance for fake-feeling interactions, as 40% of Gen Z workers from this survey said engaging in small talk feels like “learning a new language.”
But there’s part of this that feels like sort of a running joke. Gen Z and Millennials have always had a back-and-forth dynamic of making fun of one another for different things, and Millennials certainly get the brunt of it. Some Gen Zers are saying this stare was something easy for Millennials to grab onto and run with. This comes a few months after Gen Z made fun of the “Millennial pause,” which is a short few-second-long pause Millennials do at the start of a video before they begin speaking.
So because of this, I have to laugh. It’s in some ways also like “resting bitch face,” or what’s popularly known as RBF. Others on TikTok have compared it to the “lead paint stare” that’s common among Boomers. It’s similarly another unfazed, blank stare.
I do feel slightly compelled to defend younger Gen Z here, though. A lot of younger Gen Zers are still in school and are young enough where they still have a shot at changing these behaviors, yet most of these people commenting on this stare are adults, which is a little different than teenage Gen Zers making fun of “quirky” Millennial mannerisms.
I’m aware that not every Gen Zer would willingly change their ways. I can’t imagine what it’s like being a teacher right now who’s trying to navigate students cheating in class because of their access to AI. There are a lot of reasons to feel hopeless about younger generations, but maybe you don’t have a right to complain about the lack of Gen Z’s basic manners in public if you were responsible for raising an iPad kid.
Granted, there’s a lot at play here, and I kind of see all the sides. I used to work in customer service and definitely got asked some ridiculous questions from other generations that warranted the stare from a 19-year-old water ice server. I’m also not oblivious to the fact that some of my fellow Gen Z peers are definitely lacking in communication skills, so this phenomenon doesn’t exactly feel surprising. There’s something inherently yet depressingly funny about it all, too. You can’t see it, but I’m ending this with a deadpan stare.
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