The results are in from BI's 'Gen Z stare' reader survey — here's what people said
We heard from a lot of you, with 241 readers weighing in.
59.3% of respondents said that they had experienced the "Gen Z stare." That compared to 40.7% who said they hadn't.
The TikTok-viral observation about Gen Z quickly ignited a debate on social media, with no shortage of opinions. Some have argued that it's simply the latest example of the generational blame game, like when millennials were shamed for their love of avocado toast. When we spoke with seven Gen Zers, it became clear there's disagreement even among the generation.
Some BI readers submitted their own thoughts about the "Gen Z stare," ranging from justifications to complaints.
"Gen Z is very creative and tech-savvy," wrote Lauren Prieto. "One downfall is that they expect things to go smoothly and are not as proactive as previous generations. I am a part of the latter half of Gen Z, but pre-COVID I was advocating for myself in college."
Justin Scarborough wrote that Gen Z was "polite, thoughtful, and engaged," but that he felt they put up a "shy wall" others had to break through.
Some applied their experience with the "Gen Z stare" to the workplace, such as Ashleigh Moten, who said she manages Gen Z employees.
"I see a lack of social skills, mainly the ability to start a conversation first which is essential in sales," Moten wrote. "Not all, but many on the younger end of the generation have this trouble."
Others tried to understand where the "Gen Z stare," if it is a real phenomena, might come from.
Cole Bailey wrote that Gen Z is a "generation of rejection," from college applications to the job market, and that "they are told no 1,000 times before one yes."
"Gen Z is the spiritual successor to Gen X, a Between Generation with plenty of reasons for dissociation from the toxic environment we were handed, that the more-active generations propped up," wrote Eric Wagner. "If the stare is real, it's perfectly valid."

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Buzz Feed
5 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
Beloved Activities Spoiled By Thoughtless Behavior
If you've ever had something ruined because of someone else's thoughtless actions, you're in the right place. Unfortunately, it seems like it happens to all of us. In one Reddit thread (which you can see here), people shared the perfectly good things that have been ruined by a small group of "idiots," and I honestly have second-hand annoyance after reading these. Ahead, I've rounded up 18 different responses – let's see if you can relate to any of these on this list: "Years ago, Long John Silver's would donate their excess food to a local shelter. One idiot tried to get rich by suing the chain, saying the donated food was tampered with, even alleging it was purposeful to kill the homeless population. The case went nowhere, but it made all the local restaurants hesitant to donate, and now none of them donate any food at all." "A few losers in the senior class before us took beer and booze on their senior trip, hiding it in shampoo containers in their luggage. They got drunk and found out, and all senior school trips were cancelled, starting with ours, the class of 1983. Thanks assholes of '82." "I went to see the Godzilla head up close on top of a hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It's been closed indefinitely because some people were climbing on it and causing too many safety issues. One eventually fell, so we could only look through a window instead. Lame. It was still pretty cool, but fuck those guys." –PresidentLink "Thrifting. It used to be a place to find reasonably priced items. Now, too many people use it as a way to flip items." "Thieves and scammers at retail stores. More and more stuff is being locked up, and you have to jump through hoops to return a broken product." "In Japan, a couple of teenage hooligans went to a Kaitenzushi chain (conveyor-belt sushi) and started licking the sushi and condiments while leaving them on the conveyor belt, all the while filming this for TikTok. Now, half of all the Kaitenzushi chains have outright stopped having the sushi on the conveyor belt to be taken." "You have to order it for it to arrive. The whole joy of Kaitenzushi is to take as it comes, so this is MASSIVELY disappointing."–Kosmonavtlar1961 "When I was growing up, the electric company would offer free lightbulbs to customers. A local business complained that he wasn't selling any bulbs as a result, so no more free bulbs for anyone." "In Sweden, one family let their young daughter play freely in a graveyard, including climbing very old headstones, one of which fell and killed her. This resulted in the government starting a project to secure all gravestones nationwide. All registered graveowners had to pay for this. Cost me 3000 Euro." "Going unsupervised to amusement parks as a kid or a teenager. Here in Southern California, Knotts used to allow teenagers and kids to come and hang out as they pleased." "Because of TikTok and a handful of idiot teenagers starting fights and mass panic over a non-existent mass shooter (Literally, kids were yelling that there was an armed shooter as a 'joke'). So now, if you're under 15, you have to have a chaperone looking after you. Honestly, feel bad for the kids who were fine and now can't just hang with friends and ride roller coasters. If my nephew or nieces want to go, I or another family member have to agree to chaperone them. Idk, I just think that sucks."–brokenbeardman "Every single fandom subreddit eventually gets taken over by a small contingent of toxic fans/trolls driving out anyone wanting to have a normal discussion, just by attrition alone. Video game, movie, show, book – it doesn't matter, eventually it turns into this hate echo chamber over the smallest bs, and people have to create separate subreddits just to share normal opinions that aren't regurgitated hate." "Collecting as a hobby. I want to collect Pokémon cards because I like the art and love collecting cards of my favorites. Scalpers completely ruined that." "Vending machines in schools. They used to be in the common areas, end of a hallway, strategically placed outside near eating areas, obviously the cafeteria. They weren't all super junky food; there were some nice bagged salads and healthier drinks than sodas. Our school specifically had ginger tea, honey lemon iced tea, and hibiscus tea." "Some kid in our school decided to blow over $500 on just the sodas one week. His parents complained about how easy it was for the children to rot their teeth with the vending machines. Our school had them all removed, doubly incentivized by the fact that a school nutrition policy change would be active soon. They were gone by the end of the following week."–PhantomIridescence "Bad dog owners. The ones who don't clean up after their dogs. The ones who let their dogs destroy rental properties. The ones that let their dogs bark. The ones that don't train them. Dogs get banned from so many places because of bad dog owners and when people like me, who pick up after their dogs, train them, control them, can't take their dogs to certain parks, or when I was young had trouble finding places to rent because of people who didn't train their dogs." "The Bells Manor in Newport, RI. One of the largest and oldest abandoned mansions in the U.S, it was part of Brenton Point State Park. Three teenagers decided to hop the fence and go exploring on the roof, and to everyone's shock, the roof collapsed and the kids got injured. One of their fathers, presumably named Lucius Malfoy, decided to try to sue the state. So rather than go through that, the state tore down the building entirely." "A lot of archeological tourism sites like the Egyptian pyramids and Machu Picchu. People kept taking pieces as mementos. Now they won't even let you get close to a lot of these." –Makesyoudownvote "The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie sequels. The first movie was incredible, but too many parents complained about the movie being too dark and violent for kids (it isn't), so we got two progressively terrible, slapstick, nonsensical sequels, and no TMNT movie since has ever come close to matching the first one." "The LL Bean slipper exchange policy. I had one pair for ten years, and they finally ripped. I went to exchange them, and they said they don't do that anymore because of the abuse of it." And finally, "The lazy jerks who couldn't stay productive when working from home. They've basically ruined the only positive thing that came out of the pandemic." What else belongs on this list? Let me know in the comments!

Business Insider
12 hours ago
- Business Insider
My grandparents raised me and parented with fear. I tried to do things differently, but the result was the same.
My grandparents raised me, and they weren't around much. I was often without adult supervision, and in an effort to protect me, they injected a healthy dose of fear into their parenting. And though it did instill both discernment and resilience, it also created anxiety. While the origins of many of the stories that scared me didn't come directly from them, they perpetuated the myth and often added to it. I remember, at the age of 8, watching a movie as a family about the slow fallout of a nuclear war. No discussions followed the movie, no attempts to assuage my fears, even when I told them about the nightmares that came in the weeks after. The things my grandparents warned me about often became a recurring theme of my childhood nightmares. Though their intentions were good, telling them about my fear just seemed to solidify their commitment to parenting me this way. I wanted to parent differently Before I became a parent myself, I talked with my grandparents about my upbringing. They told me they had figured I was better off scared than dead. I reminded them of all the ways my anxiety manifested with the chronic nightmares and fears around everything from death to nuclear war, but they offered no apologies. I knew I wanted to parent differently. At 30, I had a son. Over the next eight years, I had three more kids. Rather than pull scary tales from the daily news or the town rumor mill, I kept them sheltered. When they asked about issues I thought could be frightening, I tried to explain in a way that was both direct and sensitive. Sometimes, the overwhelming anxiety I struggled with made it difficult, though I don't think I knew it at the time. I learned that my son dealt with similar anxieties Retrospection can be difficult as a parent. It often provides an overarching, distanced perspective we don't have when our children are little. Maybe this was why I was caught off guard when my 20-year-old son came over to have dinner one night and announced, "I'm afraid of everything." When I asked what "everything" included, he delivered a list as long as my own. It included driving, fire, water, and a million other things. Please help BI improve our Business, Tech, and Innovation coverage by sharing a bit about your role — it will help us tailor content that matters most to people like you. What is your job title? (1 of 2) Entry level position Project manager Management Senior management Executive management Student Self-employed Retired Other Continue By providing this information, you agree that Business Insider may use this data to improve your site experience and for targeted advertising. By continuing you agree that you accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . "You passed all the fear from when you grew up to me," he said. Though I had aimed to raise my children differently from how my grandparents parented me, we had seemingly achieved a similar result. I, too, had created fear, which morphed into anxiety. My son carried it into adulthood just as I had. As we said our goodbyes, I thought back to my early years as a parent. I told my kids to be careful with electricity. "Don't plug that in," I heard myself saying from almost two decades prior, "you might get shocked or start a fire." At the beach, warnings were issued about swimming too far out without adult supervision. "You told us never to swim alone," my son said, "and I remember swimming with friends and searching for an adult. At 13, it became embarrassing." The truth hurt, but it wasn't all bad Looking back at how I'd parented in contrast to my intention was eye-opening. I didn't even realize I had anxiety until my 40s. I assumed everyone lived the way that I did — in a perpetual state of fear. "I didn't know," I told my son. Then, I did what I've always done when I make a mistake: I told him I was sorry. He told me it was OK, before adding, "It is probably part of the reason I made it to adulthood." While I was truly grateful for his forgiveness and understanding, I knew I needed to start doing things differently with my youngest two children, now 14 and 12. I've gone to therapy and also realized the value of taking medication to control my anxiety. What I am trying to do now is instill confidence in my kids. My fears oozed onto everything I did and affected the way I parented. I suppose, like my grandparents, I was just doing my best to make sure my kids were safe.


Newsweek
14 hours ago
- Newsweek
Tears As Doorbell Cam Captures Mailman Bringing Dog Home for 'Last Time'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. A Wisconsin woman has shared footage of the moment her mailman made his most-heartbreaking delivery: her recently deceased dog. Krysten Klapatauskas, from Wausau, was inconsolable following the sudden death of her beloved German shepherd. "I got Stoli when she was 8 weeks old from a backyard breeding situation and had her for 10-and-a-half wonderful years," Klapatauskas said. Under her guidance, Stoli bloomed, becoming the best dog she could possibly hope to be. "She learned how to track scents and found more than a dozen lost dogs, a few cats and a horse," Klapatauskas said. It is not often that you would describe a pet as a "people person," but Stoli was, in every sense of the word. "She was very protective of her home and her momma. However, she loved everyone she met, especially children," Klapatauskas said. "Stoli's self-appointed job in the house was to herd the three cats. She always made sure where each one was." That is why Klapatauskas has been left feeling so bereft since Stoli's passing: there just isn't another canine out there quite like her. There had been signs something was wrong. On March 12, while out on a walk, Stoli stumbled. "I thought she had a stroke and took her to the ER vet immediately," Klapatauskas said. "Her blood work looked good, and she was diagnosed with a sprained neck." Malachi the mailman brings Stoli the dog home one final time. Malachi the mailman brings Stoli the dog home one final time. TikTok/krysk710 Despite this diagnosis, Klapatauskas said she still felt something wasn't quite right with Stoli, so she sought a second opinion from her regular vet. Again, the blood work came back fine, with her veterinarian putting the issue down to "joint pain." However, everything changed on July 4. "I woke up to find her having trouble breathing. I took her to the ER vet again," Klapatauskas said. "An ultrasound revealed a large tumor on her spleen and her abdomen filled with blood as one of the tumors had ruptured." Klapatauskas was left facing an unimaginable choice: have Stoli put to sleep that day, or have her undergo surgery, which would, at best, give her six more months. "I was not going to put her through that," Klapatauskas said. "She was way too good of a best friend for me to allow that to happen. I knew that I had to be the one to bear the pain of losing her." It is a pain Klapatauskas has found difficult to bear. "She was my heart dog," she said. "She was my constant source of unconditional love and acceptance. She saw me through breakups, a career change, a move and a major medical diagnosis." When a beloved pet like Stoli passes, you aren't just mourning the loss of a four-legged friend, you are mourning a death in the family. That is a sentiment backed up by science. In 2019, a study published in the journal Death Studies concluded there to be "no significant differences between the levels of grief severity" among people experiencing a pet or human death. That is what made the actions of Malachi, Klapatauskas's mailman, so special. Malachi loved Stoli. "If we were on the porch, Malachi would always give her pets," Klapatauskas said. "Sometimes, we would run into him on our walks, and he always came over to say hi." In that sense, it felt right that Malachi would be the one to deliver Stoli's remains to Klapatauskas's house. It was a task he undertook with the utmost love and respect for his old friend. Krysten Klapatauskas sits with her beloved dog Stoli. Krysten Klapatauskas sits with her beloved dog Stoli. TikTok/krysk710 "Malachi had Stoli up front with him when he left the mail center, so she was safe and secure for her last ride," Klapatauskas said. "He brought her to me and said he was so sorry for my loss and knew how much she meant to me." That heartbreaking delivery and the emotional exchange that followed was captured on Klapatauskas's doorbell camera, with the footage later posted to her TikTok @krysk710. At the time of writing, it has been watched almost 3 million times, with Malachi's simple act of kindness touching so many. "We just sat and cried and talked about how much it sucked that she was gone," said Klapatauskas. "He knew it was going to be a very rough time for me, and he chose to sit with me and be a source of comfort. My mom had been on her way to my house and pulled up to Malachi and I sitting on the porch together. I'm thankful he stayed until she got there." There was something so gut-wrenching about seeing Stoli, her big bundle of love, reduced to a small box. "She hasn't fit in my lap since she was a puppy," Klapatauskas said. "That thought broke me." But she wasn't alone at that moment, thanks to Malachi. "His kindness and compassion know no bounds, and he is an amazing human being," Klapatauskas said. "Stoli was a one-of-a-kind dog. I can only hope that my heart allows me to have that type of connection again. For now, I just need to heal."