The “Gen Z stare” has been all over social media and real life lately. The phrase first appeared around mid-July 2025, and people used it to describe a very specific look that Gen Zers give to other people. Naturally, the term has made the younger generation quite annoyed. But what is the stare? And why is it specific to Gen Z? Here are the facts.
What people mean by the “Gen Z stare”
The term “Gen Z stare” appeared on TikTok originally, and then news outlets began picking it up around July 2025. It refers to a slow stare that Gen Zers apparently have. The stare itself is rather still, and it usually comes after someone asks the younger generation a question. They don’t respond with a regular smile. No, the person holds a neutral face while they think.
It’s not exactly an intense or threatening look. Essentially, they’ll have their eyes directly on you and their mouth relaxed for a few seconds. It’s mostly in face-to-face situations, although some people claim they’ve seen the stare online. In particular, the stare is most common in shops and at schools.
What it looks like in the wild
Another part of the Gen Z stare is that the person doing it often shares eye contact that lasts for a second longer than usual. It lacks the smile or eyebrow movement most people expect in casual conversation. A neutral face doesn’t send strong emotional signals, and that means most people read it however their brain chooses to fill it in.
Giving a neutral face is hardly a uniquely Gen Z trait. However, it’s the frequency, as well as the timing, of when Gen Z gives such a stare that gives it this nickname.
Why people tie it to Gen Z
So why is it connected to Gen Z? It’s mostly to do with how they grew up. The younger generation had smartphones and social media around them from childhood. They’re used to seeing front-facing cameras practically everywhere. It’s due to this that they had more practice controlling their face on screens, especially in selfies, where neutral expressions are normal.
Gen Z spent their teen years interacting through screens, unlike older generations who spent more of their younger years dealing with people in real life. Gen Z’s version of a “normal” face doesn’t match older people’s habit of smiling automatically at strangers. Young people had more spaces where keeping their faces relaxed was completely normal. Now, that same neutrality is appearing offline.
The screen-first social life piece
Researchers who study technology and communication have found that screen-based interactions don’t train people in the same way that real life does. You don’t learn the same face-reading habits that older generations learned through nonstop conversations in person.
Eye-contact research has also found that people handle direct gazing differently, depending on how they were socialized. It doesn’t feel strange to sit still for a second when you’re someone who grew up online. But face-to-face, such behavior is easily noticed.
Why it shows up a lot in customer service and work
One of the main reasons people keep seeing the Gen Z stare in stores and restaurants is rather straightforward. Many Gen Z workers are in early-career jobs that involve constant interaction with other people. Several news agencies interviewed managers and customers alike about the stare. Their response? Gen Z does the stare whenever they’re asked something simple, like “How’s your day going?”
Researchers have looked into how younger workers communicate during their careers. They’ve found that younger groups often prefer to keep things short and avoid some of the extra filler talk that was part of conversations for older workers. Gen Z isn’t necessarily doing the stare deliberately. It’s simply that it’s happening frequently in environments where older people expect fast reactions and quick facial feedback.
Post-pandemic timing & why the phrase felt sudden
Of course, neutral staring isn’t new at all, but the label of the “Gen Z stare” really took off in summer 2025. That’s quite important. Gen Z hit adulthood during the years when schools and jobs kept flipping between online and in-person. Even social events weren’t the same.
As soon as things went back to normal, older adults began noticing that younger coworkers and students were doing things differently during conversation. Gen Z employees were now face-to-face with customers again. It didn’t take long for this generation to get called out for their stare, whether they were aware that they were doing it or not.