Latest news with #JessicaMaddox
News18
2 days ago
- General
- News18
What Is The Gen Z Stare? The Viral Blank Look That's Confusing Everyone
Gen Z Stare could be described as a blank or empty look that many young people often show when asked a question. Gen Z stare is becoming very popular on social media. It could be described as a blank or empty look that many young people often show when asked a question. This expression happens everywhere, at school, restaurants, work and other places, which leaves older people confused or annoyed. You might wonder what exactly the Gen Z stare is and why so many people are talking about it. In this article, we will explain what this looks means and why it has caught so much attention online. It's not clear where or how the Gen Z stare trend began, but it has quickly caught people's attention and sparked a lot of discussion online. Every generation has habits, but there might be some clear reasons behind the blank stare. Two big reasons are the internet and the pandemic. When people mostly talk or connect through phones or screens, it can affect their real life behaviour. Gen Z is the first generation to grow up fully using apps such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. That might be the reason why they sometimes look unbothered during face to face talks. Jessica Maddox, a professor at the University of Alabama told NBC News, 'When I first started hearing talk about the Gen Z stare, and people were kind of explaining what it is, I was like, 'Oh, my God, this is what happens to me as a college professor'. This [look] very much accelerated after we returned to campus after Covid protocols." During the pandemic, people had to stay apart and follow social distancing rules, which made face to face interactions rare. Many schools were taking online classes, so students got used to staying home and learning through screens instead of meeting others in person. Jess Rauchberg, an assistant professor of communication technologies at Seton Hall University, added, 'I think we are starting to really see the long term effects of constant digital media use, right? We think of the phone as an appendage to our bodies. If it's a processing thing, it's hard to imagine someone wouldn't know how to nod or respond with a smile or just say 'OK,' but we may take for granted some of the social skills we have developed over the years because we didn't have technology to deal with and we didn't have to be isolated from our peers." Whether it's a real way of showing their emotions or just a passing trend, the Gen Z stare has definitely made people on social media talk. It has also started a bigger conversation about how different generations communicate. view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 17:47 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NBC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Gen Z is staring at you. It may be more than just a quirk.
When professor Jessica Maddox asks her University of Alabama students a question in class, she is sometimes met with blank, deadpan looks from the Gen Zers in the room. The look has become so prevalent that Maddox occasionally resorts to begging her students for a response. It was only recently that she learned this behavior had a name: the 'Gen Z stare." 'When I first started hearing talk about the 'Gen Z stare,' and people were kind of explaining what it is, I was like, 'Oh, my God, this is what happens to me as a college professor,'' said Maddox, an associate professor of digital media. While there are several definitions for the stare, the most common meaning is a vacant expression a Gen Zer gives in response to a question. The stare occurs in classrooms, restaurants, at work and more settings. It often appears judgmental and on TikTok, many Gen Zers — typically defined as those ages 13-28 — have claimed it's because those who doing the staring are dumbfounded or disinterested in engaging with, what they call, 'stupid questions.' 'I don't think it's a lack of social skills. I just think we don't care,' said Dametrius 'Jet' Latham, a TikTok creator and Gen Zer who recently picked up more than 1.4 million views on a video about the topic. The hashtag #GenZStare, which has been used in about 8,000 videos on TikTok, began picking up steam earlier this month and hit its peak Monday. A search for the term on TikTok revealed videos showing millennials calling out Gen Z, and more videos of Gen Z firing back at the term they appear to find insulting. Maddox has a theory as to why the "Gen Z stare" has become so pervasive now. 'This [look] very much accelerated after we returned to campus after Covid protocols,' Maddox said, adding that she noticed an "increasing amount of silence" after posing questions to her class in the wake of the global pandemic. Due to social isolation during the pandemic, many students faced increased mental health challenges, such as anxiety and depression. Face-to-face interactions became less common amid social distancing protocols and many schools temporarily switched to remote learning. Because Gen Zers were socialized during a pandemic, they came of age building relationships on social media, Maddox said. This may have led to the development of unique types of communication skills among those who are 27 years old or younger. Additionally, because most members of the generation don't remember a time without social media, they fear anything they say or do could end up being mocked online — or worse, get them canceled. Some experts say young people deadpanning their elders can be observed as far back as the 1950s and 1960s, with the rise of youth culture around rock and roll, Elvis and The Beatles. The blank stare and other forms of defiance can also be seen in 1980s films, such as Howard Hughes' 'Pretty in Pink' and 'Sixteen Candles.' The latest iteration of this defiance is likely not just a hallmark of dissent, but also a response to social anxiety developed during formative years in isolation. 'I think we are starting to really see the long-term effects of constant digital media use, right?' said Jess Rauchberg, an assistant professor of communication technologies at Seton Hall University. 'We think of the phone as an appendage to our bodies.' Gen Zers also fear being "cringe," a term they often use to describe other generations that came before them. Intergeneration feuds have long been a core part of platforms like TikTok, and they're often spurred on by Gen Z. One of the most famous instances of intergenerational spats was the rise of ' OK Boomer,' a phrase used by Gen Z and millennials alike to belittle the older generations who they see as out of touch. It doesn't stop there. Gen Zers have criticized Gen Alpha, their younger counterparts, for their ' blue light stare,' a disengaged nonchalant look those born between 2010 and 2024 use. They also have mocked boomers for what they call the ' lead paint stare," a look that is described as being confused or befuddled by a response to a question. At one point, there was no greater sin to a zoomer than 'millennial cringe.' While some Gen Zers have embraced the label, others still fear it being applied to them. On TikTok, compilations of 'millennial cringe' have received millions of views and thousands of comments from young people mocking what they perceive as millennial behaviors, such as calling dogs 'doggo,' or making things like Disney or 'Harry Potter' their whole personality. Psychotherapist Robi Ludwig suggested that the "Gen Z stare" reflects the gap in social skills between members of Gen Z and millennials. 'If it's a processing thing, it's hard to imagine someone wouldn't know how to nod or respond with a smile or just say 'OK,' but we may take for granted some of the social skills we have developed over the years because we didn't have technology to deal with and we didn't have to be isolated from our peers," she said. As people of other generations mock the 'Gen Z stare,' many zoomers have grown defensive, posting videos calling out people for their criticism of the trend. Some younger users online have also clarified what exactly the "Gen Z stare" is and isn't. TikTok Santana, who is a member of Gen Z and works as a bartender, said in a video that "the customer service stare is the stare a worker gives somebody for asking someone something f---- stupid." Whereas, "the 'gen z stare' is the lead paint staring that customer service workers receive instead of response to anything." Maddox, of the University of Alabama, said that this type of reaction online be exactly what some are hoping for, adding it could be posted as a form of 'rage-bait' from creators to farm engagement. 'Internet culture loves a generational feud,' she said.
NBC News
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Tired of all the doom and gloom? These queer content creators have you covered
Signing onto social media in 2025 can be a scary prospect, given the flurry and nature of news filling feeds. But it can also be a source of comfort or comic relief, thanks to what seems to be a growing number of queer creators taking the doom out of scrolling with comedic content ranging from thought-provoking to downright silly. Building on LGBTQ-made content's positive impact and popularity in recent years, these creators and social media personalities appear to be giving more and more people a much-needed reason to laugh. 'Social media have always been places where marginalized users are early adopters — whether that's by race, sexuality, ability — because they are able to seek out communities that they may not have in their offline lives,' Jessica Maddox, an associate professor of digital media at the University of Alabama, told NBC News. She also noted that in the current political environment, in which many people 'have already lost a lot of rights and freedoms,' there's been an increase in 'online chatter in queer spaces, forming around queer creators, because people can come together maybe in ways they can't come together offline right now.' Maddox said she's personally been finding comic relief via the TikTok account of Emile Ennis Jr., who launched a series of 'queer agenda' videos for June and quickly attracted loyal fans who refer to his posts as their 'daily dose of happiness.' But there is an abundance of options, particularly on TikTok and Instagram, for people looking to add queer joy to their feeds. There's wholesome satire from the likes of Connor Clary, who rates everything from Pride collections to political speeches on a 5-star scale, and Rob Anderson, who recaps the outlandish plots of nostalgic films, television shows and books. Meanwhile, creators such as Haley Faulkner, Coach Jackie J and Col and Ari are making lesbian-centric content on subjects ranging from sapphic flirting to women's sports coaches and DIY home renovations. There are general interest talking heads such as Tyreak Told You and Chris Zou who deliver takes on a boundless array of topics, as well as highly specialized accounts from a TikToker known as Babe and Grant and Ash. Unsurprisingly, many pet-related accounts are run by queer creatives, as in the case of Michelladonna and Shop Cats. But perhaps the most popular category of content at the moment is character work, which launched the careers of actors Benito Skinner and Megan Stalter and is the bread and butter of comedians such as Boman Martinez-Reid, Kendahl Landreth, Vinny Thomas, Joe Hegyes and Britt Migs. 'The characters have become parts of people's lives' Among the many social media personalities doing top-tier character work is Zachariah Porter, who started making content in 2019 and now boasts nearly 5.5 million followers between TikTok and Instagram. Porter is also one-half of a social media power couplecompleted by partner and podcast co-host Jonathan Carson, who has more than 1 million followers tuning in to his personal accounts. The two Brooklyn-based creators met on Instagram during the pandemic and have since teamed up to accelerate their respective social media brands, with Carson educating followers on now-defunct aesthetic styles and bizarre Zillow listings and Porter donning quick drag to play a variety of put-upon Massachusetts women. 'I never thought I would be doing this, because I didn't think this was a thing,' Porter said of transitioning from nonprofits to finding success with short-form comedic content, which he's recently parlayed into a touring stand-up show. 'It's the character stuff that has really changed my entire life — doing these wigs and these characters inspired by the people that I grew up with and that raised me.' Porter, who describes his dynamic with his audience as 'parasocial,' said the majority of his followers and the people who come to his show are women in their 20s to 50s who see their own relationships brought to life in his portrayals. On TikTok and Instagram, these fans take to the comments sections of Porter's videos, which are shot by Carson, to express their feelings of kinship for characters like a wine-loving matriarch his mom swears isn't based on her, a trauma-dumping cousin and a chaotic but oddly effective restaurant manager. They also show up at meet-and-greet events to reminisce with Porter about their favorite videos from over the years, as if they're talking about old friends. 'The characters have become parts of people's lives. They have been connection points for people,' Porter said, underscoring a point that Maddox made about comedy resonating when it's 'grounded in lived experience.' 'People do come for joy' Another social media personality who expertly pairs humor and personal history is RaeShanda Lias, a 43-year-old veteran, mother of four and small-business owner who lives in Louisville, Kentucky. After a difficult stretch of years and rebuilding her life more than once, Lias began filming herself at a dry-erase board in 2023 outlining rules to live by — from respecting Rihanna's privacy to deplaning in an orderly fashion. And since then, she's amassed 2.5 million followers on TikTok and another 1 million on Instagram with her no-nonsense approach and positive worldview. 'You know what you get when you come over to my page. If you stop, if you scroll, there's going to be somebody wearing something hideous that I need to talk about — all the way down to our rights,' Lias said of her videos, which often feature her scribbling nonsensically while delivering unscripted lectures on topics ranging from wearing Timberlands inside to reproductive rights. Lias, whose tagline is 'let's check the board,' attributes her success on social media to the multifaceted quality of her content — which occasionally involves her cat, Nutmegan Thee Stallion — and just being herself. She tries to avoid getting too enmeshed in somber topics, she says, and is passionate about making people laugh because she comes from a big family that uses humor to get through hard moments. 'There's so many things going on in the world, and it's too heavy to talk about the same thing every day. So I break it up with Nutmeg or saying something off the wall, because people do come for joy, and I want them to find that,' Lias said. 'Being able to come together' Like many queer creators, Lias, who also has a transgender son, has ended up commenting more frequently on hot-button issues as a result of the current news cycle. And, of late, she said she's felt compelled to open up about the heavier sides of her story — including dealing with divorce and domestic abuse — because of the response she's had from followers. She has found that either one can lead to backlash and land her on the 'wrong side' of social media, but she takes a live-and-let-live approach that's espoused by many of her fellow creators who are grateful for what the internet has given them. Carson, who's found unexpected fan bases on social media among antique collectors and straight, male realtors with his videos that pay homage to simpler times, said there are always hateful comments but noted that he's 'found more support than ever.' 'I grew up a little gay boy in the Midwest during the 'that's so gay' era of the 2000s. It was rough, but little 8-year-old me would be thrilled to know that he has finally been accepted for being himself,' Carson said. 'As the great American poet RuPaul once said, 'Unless they paying your bills, pay them bitches no mind.'' Maddox, who also spends a significant amount of time online for work, shares a similarly sunny view about how the good outweighs the bad when it comes to social media. 'Social media has unleashed a lot of problems on our world. And at the same time, there is actually a lot of good that comes from it — such as people developing spaces that are their own, having authentic conversations and being able to come together,' Maddox said. 'It also does bring us these moments of joy that, I think, are really important to cling to and be more deliberate about seeking out, especially when things are bad.'
