“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Gen Z’s stare has a real explanation

The blank look that has become known online as the “Gen Z stare” may be more than a meme. A study cited by The Washington Post links the habit of answering questions with a silent gaze or gesture to a broader decline in everyday speech.

The term describes people who do not respond immediately when spoken to. Instead, they look at the other person without expression or use a hand gesture in place of an answer. The style has become associated with younger people and their reluctance to prolong conversations with strangers.

Researchers from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Arizona examined everyday voice data from 2,197 participants aged 10 to 94. The data came from 22 studies carried out between 2005 and 2019.

Their analysis estimated that average daily speech declined by about 338 words for every year covered by the research. Comparing 2005 with 2019, the amount people spoke each day fell by about 28%. The decline was steeper among people younger than 25, whose daily speech dropped by an estimated 451 words per year, compared with those over 25.