![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEC_259041158-4229.jpg\")
\n\t\tHave you spotted the Gen Z stare? (Picture: Getty\/Metro)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tHave you spotted the Gen Z stare? (Picture: Getty\/Metro)<\/p>\n
Every now and then, TikTok<\/a> coins a term for something you never even realised you\u2019d noticed. This week, it\u2019s the \u2018Gen Z stare\u2019.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t pinpoint exactly when I first noticed twentysomethings staring blankly in response to seemingly simple questions, but when I saw Riley Despot\u2019s video about the phenomenon, I thought yes, that looks familiar.<\/p>\n In her post, Riley reenacts enthusiastically making small talk with her daughter\u2019s golf instructor, then asking clear questions about payment, only to be met with long pauses, a deadpan face and increasingly vague answers.<\/p>\n \u2018I walked away from the interaction so confused,\u2019 she said in the caption, before adding: \u2018I am against slamming a generation as a whole, because I know this isn\u2019t all of Gen Z.\u2019<\/p>\n Of course this is not universal, and for every \u2018Gen Z stare\u2019 I\u2019ve encountered, there will be 10 times I\u2019ve been blown away (read: downright intimidated) by the articulation of the generation coming up behind me.<\/p>\n But the 5,000 commenters on Riley\u2019s video \u2013 and the thousands elsewhere on TikTok and Reddit \u2013 aren\u2019t debating whether the Gen Z stare exists. They\u2019re questing why this is happening, and that\u2019s when things get interesting.<\/p>\n Gen Z includes anyone born between 1997 and 2012, making them between the ages of 23 and 12 when Covid-19 hit in 2020. Their formative years were defined by online learning and social isolation \u2013 and they\u2019re still feeling the impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n A 2024 Preply survey <\/a>found the pandemic \u2018particularly affected Gen Z\u2019, with 51% saying they felt their social skills had declined because of limited in-person interactions, compared with 47% of millennials, 37% of Gen Xers and 26% for Baby Boomers.<\/p>\n Is it any wonder then, that small talk feels awkward?\u00a0<\/p>\n Tam Kaur<\/a>, a 24-year-old Gen Z self-help author, thinks it\u2019s shortsighted to reduce the Gen-Z stare to rudeness, when it\u2019s clearly a \u2018symptom of something deeper\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019re the first generation to grow up with our faces constantly on display in selfies, stories, video calls, with everything being scrutinised online,\u2019 she tells Metro.<\/p>\n \u2018That creates a heightened sense of self-consciousness and a fear of being judged, even in the smallest interactions. <\/p>\n \u2018Previous generations didn\u2019t have to think about how they looked from every angle or whether they sounded awkward saying hello, but Gen Zs do.\u2019<\/p>\n Gen Z have checked out \u2014 and maybe that\u2019s fair<\/p>\n We\u2019ve heard before that the 9 till 5 \u2018isn\u2019t worth it\u2019<\/a> for Gen Z, who feel like career progression will do little to change crippling rents<\/a>, record student debt, the gig economy and a yawning generational wealth divide.<\/p>\n Now, some Gen Z content creators are claiming the perceived \u2018stare\u2019 is actually a legitimate response to older customers asking younger service workers stupid or entitled questions \u2013 an extension of quiet quitting<\/a>, in a way. <\/p>\n Previous generations might have been told to \u2018respect their elders\u2019 or show \u2018the customer is always right\u2019, but many Gen Z workers are done. So, so done.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although some of Gen Z are (perhaps fairly) knowingly checking out, Bex Spiller, a workplace wellbeing consultant, thinks some might physically and mentally be unable to check in.<\/p>\n \u2018This Gen Z stare could actually be a symptom of burnout and cognitive overload,\u2019 she tells Metro.<\/p>\n \u2018This generation has entered the workforce during a time of incredible pressure with rising living costs, unstable job markets and constant digital noise.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s unsurprising that this would cause their nervous system to react in a way that looks like they\u2019re going blank or disconnecting. Like fight or flight, our nervous system also has \u2018freeze\u2019 and that could be what we\u2019re seeing in a generation that feels overwhelmed right now.\u2019<\/p>\n Bex, who is founder of The Anti-Burnout Club<\/a>, says instead of mocking this social tic, we should be asking: \u2018Are we about to see a generation fully burnt out before they\u2019ve even fully entered the job market?\u2019<\/p>\n In the comments, one Tiktoker, @Hazlyyyn, who works in retail, admitted she probably stares just because she\u2019s exhausted.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m tired, I say the same things to different people every single day, I\u2019m tired of holding convos,\u2019 she explained. \u2018Just let me answer your question and get away from me please, I\u2019m overstimulated.\u2019<\/p>\n For any members of Gen Z who\u2019ve recognised themselves in these videos, Bex advises asking yourself what the root cause may be.<\/p>\n \u2018Do you feel like you are fully zoning out and not just eye rolling a previous generation? We\u2019ve all done that!\u2019 she says. <\/p>\n \u2018Start by reclaiming small pockets of rest throughout your day, protecting your energy like it\u2019s a resource, and getting curious about what\u2019s draining you.<\/p>\n \u2018Oh, and don\u2019t beat yourself up for feeling fried. The world you\u2019re trying to function in is overwhelming by design.\u2019<\/p>\n When encountering the Gen Z stare, Bex urges millennials to show a bit of compassion.<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019ve spent decades rewarding people for being constantly \u201con,\u201d but that\u2019s just not sustainable and maybe the \u2018stare\u2019 is telling us that,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u2018Also we\u2019ve always associated eye contact and instant replies with professionalism, but that doesn\u2019t account for burnout, anxiety, or neurodivergence.\u2019<\/p>\n Tam echoes this, advising millennials not to \u2018rush to fill the silence\u2019 if faced with an awkward pause.<\/p>\n \u2018A moment of stillness might feel awkward to you, but for some people it\u2019s exactly the time they need to process what\u2019s just been said. Especially for younger people who may be navigating anxiety or a lack of social confidence, that pause isn\u2019t necessarily them being rude, it\u2019s them trying to find their words,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u2018One of the kindest things you can do is give them space to respond. Let the silence breathe for a second. If you don\u2019t get an answer, politely rephrasing your question in a simpler or more direct way can help ease the pressure.\u2019<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to be mad at the Gen Z stare, if it\u2019s borne out of social anxiety,<\/a> digital overwhelm and burnout, for a generation who\u2019ve been dealt one of the toughest hands in recent history.<\/p>\n And if the Gen Z stare is a sulky silent protest against the societal status quo? I say fair enough. <\/p>\n Maybe Gen Z has found a way to convey an emotion the rest of us wish we could.\u00a0<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow
\nMORE: Size eight women are calling themselves fat in a \u2018disturbing hierarchy\u2019 of slimness<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: Are millions of people actually faking being sick?<\/a><\/p>\n