Why Gen Z teens stare like zombies: the surprising reason behind ‘rude’ teen habit explained as experts call for empathy
Teens aren’t being rude when they unleash the chilling ‘Gen Z stare’ and don’t remove their AirPods during a conversation, experts say – it’s actually evolution in action.
Holding conversations with headphones in, avoiding phone calls at any cost and an eerie blank stare – these are some of the ways Gen Z’s approach to modern communication leaves their teachers and older colleagues bemused.
But they’re not trying to be rude, experts say, and these teenage behaviours should be met with empathy and understanding rather than animosity.
UniSA educator Alexandra Gavrilidis, a Gen Z herself and a former high school teacher, believes the key to bridging the generational gap in communication is simply to “be empathetic”.
“Who said that that way of social interaction is the right way? Who said that’s the way it’s going to be forever?” she says.
“Maybe Gen Z are on to something, maybe they’re not, it’s all part of continuing on and seeing how these behaviours change.”
The Gen Z stare – a blank look often coupled with dead eyes and complete silence – is considered rude by some older people but is often misunderstood, Ms Gavrilidis says.
It’s actually about “zoning out, processing or feeling awkward”.
“For many young people, the stare isn’t defiance at all – so it’s important to take a moment to reflect before you react by impulse,” she says.
Gen Zs often leave their headphones in when speaking with others, something which may leave parents, teachers and older colleagues taken aback.
“Their norm is very much headphones in, eyes down until interaction is required,” Ms Gavrilidis says.
“When you’re talking to someone, an instinct might be to remove the headphones to show you’re listening … in their mind it’s like ‘well I am listening to you, I don’t need to prove I’m listening’.”
Mitcham Girls High School Gen Z students Fleur Sudo, Adeline Richmond and Dakota Wood, all 16, each have experienced misunderstandings with older generations.
“I give Gen Z stares a lot and it’s really bad in maths class with 6-7,” Fleur says.
The slang term “6-7”, now frequently heard in schools, originates from the song “Doot Doot (6-7)” by Skrilla and LaMelo Ball, a basketball player, created a trending video about being 6 feet 7 inches tall using the tune. So what does it mean? Pretty much nothing – it’s just a viral phrase seemingly designed to irritate adults.
Dakota, who often listens to music with both earbuds in, often gets “called out” by her dad for leaving them in when he tries to talk to her.
Adeline doesn’t like calling even her best friends on the phone and prefers texting instead.
“I don’t want to disturb them because I don’t know what they’re doing,” she says.
The younger generation is also characterised by a chronic avoidance of speaking on the phone.
While preferring texting might seem lazy to some, it’s actually giving them “time to regulate their response, avoid misreading tone and craft clarity”, communication expert Madeline Miller says.
To Gen Z, phone calls can “feel high-stakes”.
“Gen Z is communicating in a way that feels safest and most controllable in a world where they lost of the opportunities to learn the basics we all absorbed through in real life interactions,” Ms Miller says.
“Once you understand the psychology behind their style, it stops looking defiant and starts looking adaptive.”
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Originally published as Why Gen Z teens stare like zombies: the surprising reason behind ‘rude’ teen habit explained as experts call for empathy
