Your cashier gazes at you blankly.
You thought you had asked a perfectly suitable question, after all, did Chipotle not sell quesadillas? Yet there you are, answered with muteness. Did you do something wrong?
This phenomenon has become more ubiquitous, and grown in nearly all settings, professional or otherwise. The only link between the culprits of such unusual behavior is their age: born between 1997 and 2012. Sociologists and TikTokers alike have coined this look the “Gen Z Stare” and it has been to much confusion of other age demographics.
Within this trend, associated terms have sprouted in the context of a response to this expression, such as “millennial panic,” in which young adults will begin to over explain themselves in insecurity. This distinct character foil serves to no avail for the speaker however, as they are met only with an icy blankness.
Naturally, in the paranoia associated with any upcoming or youthful trend, one has to ask: “But what does it mean?”
“The Gen Z stare in my opinion is a label other generations use to summarize our ‘attitudes’ when we are expected to answer common knowledge questions,” Subisha Sankar (10) said.
The motivation of this generation may be found in the absurdity of a prompt. However, in the societal soup of our world, one would generally respond politely and shortly to an odd request, or ask for clarification. Why may this group have shifted from other societal behaviors?
One teenager summed up the generation’s attitudes succinctly: “I think it pretty much says that we’re tired,” Noelle Wise (12) said. “Of what specifically, I don’t know, but the fact that we have to give up with words shows we’re tired of something, probably repeating ourselves.”
What does this say about Gen Z?
As previous systems of communication have failed, and their theoretical role models argue until the sun sets, then blame each other for the dark, maybe this generation is simply experimenting.
Our youth have created some sort of rhetorical wall, resulting in hasty self-reflection and self-consciousness on the burden of the prompter, rather than expected obligation of the respondee.
Larger implications can be derived from this action. As time has progressed, consent has become a consensus in the norm of behavior. This trend, unlike many of the past, has no real revolution, no political or civil tie.
Rather, this generational shift feeds the rebellion of the everyday. While a march on the street may draw eyes, intruding on the quotidian disorients. Effective change, in the past, has taken some sort of compromise, as everyone has questions to be quenched.
But what happens when we care not to provide the answer?
Whether this trend be passé by the end of the month, or a lasting staple of this generation, the means for larger modes of change in communication are immense. It is natural to doubt intentions, to point the blame at apathy, at incivility.
Or, perhaps, when you, in pursuit of a burrito bowl, approach a 20-something year old working minimum wage in an economy failing them, and are greeted with silence, they are just tired.
Who wouldn’t be?
