Kim Bellard
Finally, I know that Generation Z is dismissing the older generation “OK Boomer”. But this was a few years ago, and now it seems that Gen Z doesn't even bother. Instead, there is something called “Gen Z Gaze”. You may have seen it, and you may have even experienced it. Tiktok's influence therefore defines it as: “Gen Z gaze is especially when someone is not responding or nothing is responding when it is necessary to respond or reasonable.”
It has been exploding in social media and media over the past few days, so it has clearly introduced the social zeitgeist. It is often attributed to customer service interactions, either workers receiving inanane requests or customers facing improper burdens.
You can already see why I linked it to healthcare.
This is offensive because as Michael Poulin, associate professor of psychology at the University of Buffalo, told Vox: “People interpret it as social rejection. There is nothing, because society exists, and humans hate it more. There is nothing more painful than rejection.”
Many attribute Gen Z gaze to the lack of social experience caused by Gen Z during the pandemic, which is often exacerbated by excessive screen time. Jess Rauchberg, assistant professor of communication technology at Seton Hall University, tends to agree NBC News: “I think we’re starting to really see the long-term impact of constant digital media use, right?”
Similarly, Bernard College professor Tara Well told Vox: “Almost like they're watching me, like they're watching TV shows…we don't see them being dynamic characters that interact with us, people who are full of thoughts, emotions and lives, lives, breathing. If you see people as ideas or images, you'll see them like you're through an old magazine in an old magazine or scrolling on your phone.”
Millennial Jarrod Benson told Washington Post: “Like they are always watching videos, they feel they need to respond. Small talk is painful. We know that. But we do it because it is socially acceptable, almost socially needed, right? But they won't do it.” Zoomer (Zoomer of Zoomer) Jordan Macisaac speculates The New York Times: “It almost feels like a dangerous revival of strangers. It's like, people just don't know how to have small talk or interact with people they don't know.”
On the other hand, Dametrius “Dametrius” Latham, the creator of Tiktok, claimed: “I don't think it's a lack of social skills. I just think we don't care,” which may be more important.
ABC News Quote some examples of customer service that deserve to be Gen Z’s gaze: “I was asked to make someone’s iced tea less cold. As Zoomer Efe Ahworegba puts it, “Gen Z’s gaze is basically what we say customers aren’t always right.” ”
Ms. Ahworegba believes that the gaze of Gen Z does not reflect the lack of social skills in Gen Z, but rather: “They just don’t want to communicate with people who don’t use their brain cells.” As some zoomers say, this is “they give people stupid people while waiting for them to realize they’re stupid.”
Nevertheless, as one commenter of Tiktok wrote: “I think Generation Z thinks they are the first generation of customers who have ever been dealing with stupid or difficult, and that's their justification that they are just in difficult or confused situations, they are just in difficult or confused situations, they are just in difficult or confused situations, and not in other generations, they are just in trouble like other generations, which is just reasonable.
Maybe it's nothing. Professor Poulin noted: “To some extent, all of us adults have surpassed teenagers and 20s, which is a comforting myth and we tell ourselves that we are certainly better than that.” In showing socially acceptable behavior, he said: “This is not a first generation failure.”
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Interestingly, Generation Z is already skeptical about our traditional healthcare system.
A new study by Edelman found:
- 45% of adults aged 18 to 34 said they have ignored guidance from their health providers in the past year to support information from friends or family — an increase of 13 points from the previous year.
- 38% of young people said they ignored their providers and instead supported social media advice, an increase of 12 points from the previous year.
“Young people really create their own health ecosystem because of how they look for information, who they trust, and what they work on health information,” said Courtney Gray Haupt, co-chair of Global Health and U.S. Health President.
One might imagine that Gen Z gazes patients might give doctors health advice.
This also affects Gen Z members who are receiving medicine. Grace Akatsu, MD/D student, told Medscape: “I think in the past, like a doctor, was seen as a call – an omnipresent entity, without much room. They added: “In a respectful and serious way, it is important to drive change where it is needed, even if it means integrating into the scope of medicine with traditional hierarchies that can be baked,” they added.
And, of course, the expectation of technology was baked at Lena Volpe, a sophomore resident of Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
But, refreshing BuzzFeed The patient's interaction with Generation Z clinicians is “quirkyly reassuring” – more informal and collaborative. It seems to be the opposite of the gaze of Generation Z!
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Healthcare is full of things that Gen Z gazes, not just from the zoomer. Whether it’s patients, clinicians or administrators, we all have stories of stupid things that we have to go through. We just keep tolerating everyone. At least – at least! – What we should do is give them a Gen Z gaze.
Kim is the former emarketing Exec of the main blues program, late editor and regret tinture.ionow regular THCB contributor
