Overview

• The hashtag #GenZStare has appeared in about 8,000 TikTok videos and amassed millions of views since mid-July.
• Gen Z workers and creators defend the blank, emotionless look as a justified response to rude or entitled customer requests.
• University of Alabama professors report growing silence from students who respond to prompts with deadpan stares.
• Some commentators argue the behavior represents a broader ’resting retail face’ among service workers rather than a uniquely Gen Z trait.
• The conversation echoes past online generational feuds and highlights shifting expectations for face-to-face interaction.