Latest news with #EfeAhworegba
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Why young people in customer service roles will give you the 'Gen Z stare'
Young service workers have come under fire for refusing to greet customers and instead giving them what's been dubbed 'the Gen Z stare'. Members of Generation Z, aged 13 to 28, struggle to make small talk in shops, restaurants and cafes and instead, they will 'stare' at the person and wait until they speak first, or even outright ignore something that has been said. They have been labelled emotionless' by Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers who have banded together on social media to call the younger generation out on their 'poor social skills'. One critic wrote on X: 'The Gen Z stare is when I try to make friendly conversation with you and you look at me like you were born yesterday and don't have language capacity. Just emotionless and nothing going on in your head as far as social skills.' Another added: 'I deal with Gen Z all day and they're basically socially stunted automatons. You greet them and they say nothing. You ask them a question and they just stare at you. They're not human.' Even older Gen Zers in their mid-twenties have noticed the lack of communication skills in their own generation, with one writing: 'Why as a Gen Z do younger Gen Z look at me like I killed a puppy if I compliment their jacket? Or when I greet them when they come up to me at my job.' But Gen Z are now fighting back say that they become speechless and glare at others only when someone has asked a 'stupid question'. Efe Ahworegba, 19, made a viral TikTok video explaining the Gen Z stare. She said: 'Fair, a lot of Gen Z don't know how to talk to people. But a lot of older generations talk too much, too rudely and too proudly while being too stupid. You have to work in the food to fully grasp how stupid people can be. 'I've had a person get mad at me because their iced tea was too cold. I really don't know what these people want from me. Of course I'm going to start staring at you like you're dumb.' Sophie Louise Ashmore, from north west England, also struck back at the claims that Gen Z cannot communicate. The 22-year-old who works in a customer service role hit out at shoppers who aren't able to answer her questions properly: 'Gen Z stare but I asked you cash or card and you said "yep".' Similarly, TikToker Bella Mia wanted to put her 'two cents in' about the Gen Z stare and said that she understands why the younger generation stays mute in awkward situations. She said: 'How can you not expect people to look at you like the way we do when you ask questions like this.' Bella then recalled a conversation of a past customer who asked for an 'extra hot Americano', despite her saying she 'cannot boil water past boiling point'. She ended the video by saying: 'How do you not expect me to look at you like a d***head when you ask me stupid questions?' Going viral: Over the past weeks, social media users of all ages have turned to Instagram, TikTok and X to talk about 'the Gen Z stare' Olivia Wrighty also involved herself in the debate and said on her social media account: 'Gen Z stare because working in UK retail and hospitality is literal hell and I am just trying to pay my bills without throwing hands at the stupidity of the general public. Sometimes we've just got to say it in our heads.' An X user speculated whether Millennials were actually the reason behind the Gen Z stare. They wrote: 'Is the Gen Z stare thing just Millennials ageing into complaining that young retail and hospitality workers don't treat them like royalty?' Someone then responded: 'I think we're so used to this dynamic we're missing what the new era of tech meditation has actually done to face to face communication.' American psychologist Jean Twenge, also believes Gen Z's changing social behaviors are down to them spending more time online and less time honing their communication skills. She told the New York Times: 'Social skills take thousands and thousands of hours to develop and adolescence is a critical period for developing social skills. 'And Gen Z has spent much less time with their peers in person during that critical stage.'
The Independent
16-07-2025
- General
- The Independent
Millennials are confused by another Gen Z thing
A new social phenomenon dubbed the ' Gen Z stare' has sparked debate, particularly between Millennials and older generations who perceive it as a lack of social interaction. Older generations describe the 'stare' as Gen Z 's inability to engage in small talk or speak, often observing it in customer service settings where younger people simply stare instead of greeting. Gen Z, however, contends the stare is a reaction to perceived 'stupidity' or unreasonable behaviour from older individuals, intended to prompt self-realisation of their errors. TikToker Efe Ahworegba explained that while some Gen Z may struggle with communication, older generations often speak 'too rudely' or 'too proudly' while being 'too stupid'. Experts suggest factors like social isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic and increased technology use may have hindered the development of social skills in Gen Z.
CBC
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
The 'Gen Z stare' mocks youth for staring into the void, but is anyone laughing?
First they came for our elders, mocking their supposedly outdated opinions with a single, repeated refrain: " OK, boomer." Then, they came for millennials, like, rather aggressively, making fun of their ankle socks, coffee dependence, for pausing before speaking in videos and for knowing which Hogwarts house they'd be sorted into, all while stealing their baggy jeans and butterfly hair clips. Certainly, they came for Gen Alpha, calling them Sephora Kids for having 24-step skincare routines by the age of nine. And Gen X, well ... no one's bothered mocking them recently, which we, of course, mock them for. But now, at last, social media is turning the mirror on Gen Z, roasting this youthful generation for its supposed habit of, well, staring. Coined the Gen Z stare, it describes the "blank, expressionless" look that the younger generation gives the older generation, according to Know Your Meme, particularly in customer service settings. It's used instead of a greeting or small talk, the site says. This blank gaze into the middle distance/void/job market has been the recent topic of debate on TikTok, where different generations argue over whether it's rude, a symptom of overwhelm, a product of growing up during the pandemic, a communication deficit — or just another generational stereotype. Some people are mocking Gen-Zers, suggesting they don't know how to communicate, and maybe that's fair, said TikTok user Efe Ahworegba in a video posted last week with 11.7 million views. "But a lot of older generations talk too much, too rudely and too proudly," she said. She described working in a fast food restaurant where an older customer demanded a cheeseburger without cheese, but with pepper jack, all while insisting pepper jack was not, in fact, cheese. In another interaction, she went on, a customer complained an iced tea was too cold. "I really don't know what these people want from me. Of course I'm just going to start staring at you." Alexis Salter, 23, of Kingston, Ont., told CBC News she believes the stare is "100 per cent" a real phenomenon — she says she's done it before while working in customer service — but that she believes people misinterpret it as rudeness. "I've had some people ask me what their PIN is when making a transaction, so I will admit I've had to process what they've said with a blank stare and pause to think before I say my next thing," Salter said. "It's also more of a reaction I give when people are being rude or ask very common-sense questions." 'Processing how to respond perfectly' The first use of the term that Know Your Meme could track down was by a TikTok user last July, when a millennial asked, "What is up with this weird stare that Gen Z be doing? I swear, every time I'm in public and it's a Gen Z worker, they just stare at you, like, even if you say something." But the term itself only recently took off. According to Google Trends, U.S. searches for " gen z stare" more than quadrupled over the past week and are currently at an all-time high. Searches within Canada have also spiked over the last few days. Why the sudden, intense interest? It could be that unlike, say, ankle socks, the debate over the stare touches on deeper issues, like how young adults and teens are coping with the lingering effects of COVID-19 lockdowns while facing the worst youth unemployment rate in decades. Generation Z largely came of age during the isolation of the pandemic, tend to prefer digital communication and report higher rates of anxiety than previous generations. Recent surveys have shown that some managers are hesitant to hire younger workers, citing a lack of soft skills like communication and collaboration. The stare is just one example of a workplace red flag and really shows how this generation is struggling, says Barry Garapedian, president of U.S.-based firm MAG7 Consulting, and who specializes in helping young adults get workplace-ready. "Years of communicating through screens — where you can edit, delete and carefully craft responses — creates anxiety when forced to respond spontaneously in person," Garapedian said in an email. "They're processing how to respond 'perfectly' instead of simply responding authentically." Nuance to the stare There's more nuance to the trend than people realize, said a 22-year-old TikToker who identified herself as Maya, in a recent video where she lamented what she sees as the loss of small-talk skills in her generation. "Instead of attacking ... maybe we could look inwards, and get curious about why we are the way that we are." Jean Twenge, an expert on generational differences at San Diego State University and the author of Generations, agreed the stare might be due to social anxiety and having less experience with face-to-face social interactions. "Gen Z spent much less time with people in person during their teen years, and that's a crucial time for developing social skills," Twenge told CBC News. "If there are actual differences between the generations, that's not a stereotype. Gen Z really does have less experience with face-to-face social interaction." Salter, in Kingston, says she doesn't mind the trend, but adds she mostly sees the stare in people age 15 to 20. "The younger Gen Z, I think, COVID has definitely robbed us of our people skills," she said. "It's definitely a puzzled reaction rather than intending to be rude." WATCH | How did the Gen Z job market get so bleak?: How did the Gen Z job market get so bleak? 1 month ago Gen Z graduates between the ages of 15 and 24 are facing the highest unemployment rate the country has seen in decades, apart from the pandemic. CBC's Paula Duhatschek breaks down what's behind the surge and what it could mean for a whole generation of Canadians.
