Gen Z is increasingly choosing to take on multiple jobs. Some creators are going a step further and posting about their side hustles on TikTok.

What is the "Gen Z Stare?" Older TikTok users say that Gen Z workers often give blank, unresponsive stares. Gen Zers are pushing back.

A war is waging online between generations over the Gen Z Stare. While Millennials blame a lack of social skills, Gen Z are blaming insufferable customer requests - but who is right?

This particular TikTok trend is quickly becoming a flashpoint in debates about workplace culture, generational divides, and the future of soft skills. While it may seem like a fleeting meme, the Gen Z stare is emblematic of deeper economic and social shifts as the youngest working generation reshapes the labor market.

Banarsë compared it to the "Millennial Pause," a brief moment of silence before speaking in a video, adding that today's social quirks go viral more quickly. Banarsë added that the stare is part of Gen Z's move toward authenticity and boundary-setting—where emotional labor isn't automatically performed to meet outdated norms.

Discourse and debate about the Gen Z stare was started in part by 30-year-old TikTok user Riley Despot, who went viral after recounting an interaction with her daughter’s gold instructor. She said she was met with a stare as she thanked the coach, and was met with a very brief response when enquiring about payment, according to Newsweek.

TikTok loves to argue — and the latest spat is over the so-called Gen Z stare. You might have a few questions like: 1) what's the Gen Z stare? and 2) why is TikTok fighting over this? and 3) who would spend their time fighting over this?

Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old political content creator, was running on a progressive platform to become one of the youngest members of Congress.