Why this ‘cringe’ Gen Z quirk has TikTok divided

Debate over the so-called Gen Z stare is the latest conversation on TikTok to capture people’s attention, but like so many viral social media moments, generations from millennials to boomers have a very different take on things.

Here’s what to know about the Gen Z stare and the debate surrounding it.

What is the Gen Z stare?

First off, you’re probably wondering, what is this Gen Z stare? Simply put, it’s a blank, unfocused stare into the void, often found in the faces of Gen Z (also called zoomers)—the generation born between 1997 and 2012, wedged in between millennials and Generation Alpha.

It’s most irritating for older people, namely millennials and their parents, who find it difficult to hold a conversation with members of Gen Z, instead being met with a blank, unfocused stare, often accompanied by silence or a one word answer.

Why are people debating over the Gen Z stare?

If the Gen Z stare seems like typical teenage behavior, you’re not wrong; Gen Z certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on being uncommunicative.

Now, TikTokers are debating not only whether the Gen Z stare exists and is a thing, but also, what it all means. Is it rude, or a justifiable reaction to what is being said?

In their defense, Gen Z social media users have said the stare is one of disbelief or frustration. It might be justified when, for example, in a customer service job, an older person can’t figure out how to use the credit card machine, or just has trouble using basic technology—best summed up by TikToker _kayluhbb, whose post garnered 1.1 million likes and a number of replies, like this one: “The gen Z stare is bc you’re tired or repeating yourself.”

There are plenty of other TikTok posts demonstrating the stare, including this one, in which the user acts out a scenario in which she has to repeatedly tell a customer that a class is fully booked. Fair enough. But older generations used to just call this type of frustration being impatient, or mocking someone. Just sayin’.

However, not to be out-mocked, millennials are poking fun back at Gen Z, like in this post from a TikToker named Riley, who was met with a Gen Z stare as she attempts and fails to get her daughter golf lessons. Which is, at the very least, cringe.