Demographics: gen-Z stare, part1

Self-tutoring about different generations: the tutor makes some observations.

It seems that the gen-Z stare is getting attention right now. Is it real? In my experience, definitely. Yet, here’s the thing: it’s not just seen from gen-Zers, so far as I’ve observed.

I’d say I first encountered the gen-Z stare from a millennial, although a very late one, likely born in the mid-90s. I told them it was impolite, but they didn’t agree. “You can’t be rude by being quiet and doing nothing,” they argued. “You can only be rude by saying something or doing something rude.”

Many seem to agree with that person’s assessment: it seems beyond doubt that, in general, passivity is easier forgiven nowadays than activity. People generally feel – perhaps know – that they are much safer when they do nothing compared to when they commit an error. Therefore, the gen-Z stare makes sense: if the person doesn’t know what to say or do, it’s safest to say nothing and do nothing.

Perhaps a point to be made here is that, in the 70s, it seems to me things were rather different. Simply not responding to someone was seen as perhaps the height of ignorance, so just wasn’t tolerated. Moreover, trying to do something positive – even if it didn’t work out – was seen more favourably than just standing back and waiting. If I had to guess when the transition happened, such that passivity became preferred over activity, I’d say it was during the 90s.

I’m from a generation before millennials, so I’ve watched them arrive, take control, and produce gen-Z. I don’t find gen-Zers much different from millennials. However, in my experience, millennials tend to be noticeably different from gen-Xers and baby boomers.

As a tutor, I spend a lot of time around gen-Zers. However, outside school, it’s my personal experience that the gen-Z stare is equally likely from a millennial as from a gen-Zer.