'Gen-Z stare' goes viral on social media - and why younger generations are blaming COVID lockdowns for the phenomenon

Sky News AU

16-07-2025

A new viral trend has emerged online that is leaving some older Australians confused as to why they are getting blank stares from young Australians.
The so called 'Gen Z' stare involves somebody not responding to or having a reaction to a command or a response when they are spoken to, and according to many social media users, it is a very real phenomenon.
Whilst some older people might interpret it as a form of rudeness, Gen Z is disputing it, claiming the stare is a result of the ineptitude of the older generation.
One TikToker posted online a video of her working in an ice cream parlour only for the customer to turn her nose at Nutella, whilst another video showed a TikToker in a coffee store getting annoyed at a customer.
Some of the comments on the video agreed with her.
"It's like they're waiting for the adult in the group to answer for them but they forgot they're the adults now," one user named Leon Vergara said.
Another said that vacant stares could be a trait of the autistic spectrum, where a person might not look at a person or avoid eye contact because they are struggling to process the sensory information.
"as an autistic person, with many autistic friends who all work is cx service too, I have a rly [really] hard time with keeping my face smiling all day long, especially with all the other loud things in my surroundings, and with small talk intros all the time while also doing my work well. covid during my years right after high school made me miss out on the college experience ðŸ˜' and my social skills are so bad now.
Another said "Fellow sociologist here. Yes, absolutely. People say, 'Covid is over!" The repercussions of it have JUST begun."
Social experts believe the reason for the lack of emotion from Gen Z is because of the lack of social communication that took place during COVID lockdowns.
Jean Twenge, the author of Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents — And What They Mean for America's Future told the New York Times Gen Zers had lost vital skills that many have already had.
'Social skills take thousands and thousands of hours to develop, and adolescence is a critical period for developing social skills,' she said.
Tam Keur, a self-help author told Huffington Post she believes the lack of emotion comes from the fact that Gen Z has grown up in the online world.
'We're the first generation to grow up with our faces constantly on display in selfies, stories, video calls, with everything being scrutinized online,' she explained.