BI Readers Weigh in on the ‘Gen Z Stare’

We asked BI readers: Have you experienced the “Gen Z stare”? Well, the results are in — and the majority of respondents said they had.

We heard from a lot of you, with 241 readers weighing in.

59.3% of respondents said that they had experienced the “Gen Z stare.” That compared to 40.7% who said they hadn’t.

The TikTok-viral observation about Gen Z quickly ignited a debate on social media, with no shortage of opinions. Some have argued that it’s simply the latest example of the generational blame game, like when millennials were shamed for their love of avocado toast. When we spoke with seven Gen Zers, it became clear there’s disagreement even among the generation.

Some BI readers submitted their own thoughts about the “Gen Z stare,” ranging from justifications to complaints.

“Gen Z is very creative and tech-savvy,” wrote Lauren Prieto. “One downfall is that they expect things to go smoothly and are not as proactive as previous generations. I am a part of the latter half of Gen Z, but pre-COVID I was advocating for myself in college.”

Justin Scarborough wrote that Gen Z was “polite, thoughtful, and engaged,” but that he felt they put up a “shy wall” others had to break through.

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Some applied their experience with the “Gen Z stare” to the workplace, such as Ashleigh Moten, who said she manages Gen Z employees.

“I see a lack of social skills, mainly the ability to start a conversation first which is essential in sales,” Moten wrote. “Not all, but many on the younger end of the generation have this trouble.”

Others tried to understand where the “Gen Z stare,” if it is a real phenomena, might come from.

Cole Bailey wrote that Gen Z is a “generation of rejection,” from college applications to the job market, and that “they are told no 1,000 times before one yes.”

“Gen Z is the spiritual successor to Gen X, a Between Generation with plenty of reasons for dissociation from the toxic environment we were handed, that the more-active generations propped up,” wrote Eric Wagner. “If the stare is real, it’s perfectly valid.”