What’s up with the ‘Gen Z stare’?
- Editor
- Jul 24
- 1 min read
We’re not zoning out. We’re just not performing for others while also trying to adapt to a world full of contradictions.
If you’ve been on TikTok lately, you’ve seen it: the “Gen Z stare.” A deadpan face. Slight frown. Eyes somewhere between focus and frustration.
One clip shows a young woman staring blankly while her boss explains how “nobody wants to work anymore.” The caption that goes with it says she is practicing her “Gen Z stare” before her 9 a.m. meeting.
It’s a look that’s launched a thousand think pieces and triggered even more confusion across generations.
Some see it as disengagement. Others call it attitude. But what if it’s neither? What if it’s just how we’ve learned to survive in a world full of contradictions?
In group chats and voice notes, we laugh about it. One friend described it as “buffering in real life.” Another said, “I give that stare at least three times a day.” Most say it is a pause to consider how best to respond to a ridiculous statement or question. And while it’s funny, it’s also familiar.
Because the Gen Z stare isn’t about rudeness. It’s about self-preservation.