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Hi, everyone and welcome back to Happy Hour. 欢迎回来酒馆. Hi, 安澜.

Hi, Lulu, hi, everyone.

Now I know you are 70-year-old inside and you have no idea what a lot of the pop culture references are.

Thank you, I guess.

But I'm going to propose a topic which very much is a pop culture reference.

Ok.

It is a very new concept called the Gen Z Stare叫做00后凝视.

So this is basically a facial expression used by Gen Z-ers, which is often blank, unimpressed or slightly bored, showing very, very little emotions, 就是00后那种, 也不是冷漠，就是面无表情, 双眼放空的那种凝视.

Well, I know something about that because I get that from my niece.

Okay, all right. So what's that about? Tell us the experience.

Well, basically anything that you would say to her or any kind of situation that most people would feel slightly enthusiastic about, she looks blank, unimpressed, or slightly bored.

For example: it's going to be holiday tomorrow, what you gonna do? what would be her reaction?

Nothing.

How's your first day at school?

Fine.

Oh yeah, okay, although...

I have to say she is somewhat growing out of that, but there is still that there.

Yeah, so I thought we talk about that because it's actually a very interesting cultural shift. It's a trend, it's a new trend, pop culture trend that has been picked up by many main mainstream media including including Forbes, and Forbes was the one either coined it or first-mentioned it.

Oh yeah, and you can see this on social media as well. If you have Gen Zo-ers on your social media feed, you don't really see them smiling very much.

I think Gen Z-ers would probably see smiling too much to be being too keen like too much.

Yeah.

So in this topic we're gonna just get deep into it. I don't know how many of you who are listening to our show are Gen Z-ers, or you’re Gen Z-ers parents, and you can see if this fits the description.

Yeah.

So first of all, like I said before, this look is often blank, 就是很空洞, unimpressed, meaning whatever you say, they are not going to find it interesting or impressive.

No. But also it's a little bit of a culture shift as well because I think about pictures of people in my generation, there was always the idea that you want to look happy, you want to be excited.

Oh Yes. I would literally... people would say Lulu you don't smile much in photos, you need to smile, give me a bigger smile. I remember growing up my parents always say that. That seems not smiling seemed to be almost like wrong.

Oh yeah. And Gen Z tends to dislike things that feel too fake or forced like those type of exaggerated smiles.

Yeah, there are TikTok videos of Gen Z-ers making fun of over excited Millennial photo posts.

I know. I've seen those.

他们会笑什么...Gen Z-ers, 00基本上00后95后, 他们会笑他们的前辈, 比如说80或者90的这些人, 英文里叫Millennial, 叫千禧一代,会笑 他们说你看他们笑得多假, 笑得多么勉强.

Andy they're trying too hard.

Yeah.

There seems to be some form of anti-enthusiastic trend. So being detached, being unimpressed seemed to be a lot cooler.

Well, it seems to be a lot more authentic. The idea that you are not being forced to be happy for others.

And I think what you said before about what your parents would say to you about smiling, older generations expect more polite smiles and enthusiasm and same as any generation, they always push back against what their parents wanted.

Whatever their parents want, they find it uncool.

Yeah.

Actually come to think of it, my younger cousin who is a Gen Z-er, yeah, it's very difficult, I sometimes find it very difficult to talk to her because... she's a very nice person, it's just when I talk to her, I always feel like I'm inconveniencing her.

Yeah.

Although I'm being actually quite polite and I consider myself to be a fun person, right? I'm a fun person?

Yes. So it could also be about internet humor. The idea that it's mocking excitement or rejecting cringe culture.

Cringe culture, we talked about this word before. Cringe就是尬, 特别尴尬的，什么尬到脚趾抠地的那种感觉.

So cringe culture is when you're being too keen to enthusiastic, too much to the point of very very awkward.

Yeah.

I would say... what was that, that very popular TV show-The Office, 《办公室》那套的both the American version and the UK version, I know you don't like it because that is cringe comedy.

Yeah, I really feel uncomfortable watching that.

Because the boss there, the manager there, I would say he is sort of this cringe culture personified, being overly keen, always enthusiastic.

Yeah, I would say I always find that really embarrassing that, TV show I can understand why it's a classic. I can understand why lots of people love it, but personally not for me.

I mean I've also seen an explanation for this whole Gen Z Stare, they're saying it's not because they're very cold or distant, it's because Gen Z-ers they are what are called digital natives. So they grew up online. Therefore they're much more comfortable sending things online, sending pictures in memes, emoticons or emojis.

Well yeah. Because if you think about it for older generations, the internet is a really new idea and they treat the internet as with some special, so you post photos to share with your friends to show the best possible light.

But if you're used to the internet, if you've always been around the internet, then basically the internet is just everyday life. There's nothing special about it. There's nothing special about the pictures you post.

And that leads on to another explanation. It's about modern feelings of stress, burnout or anxiety. If you feel comfortable being online, then you feel comfortable showing how you truly feel.

Yeah, that I have to argue against. I don't think any Gen Z or  Gen Z-er showing that kind of Gen Z stare is necessarily feeling anxiety or stress, or showing that.

I actually just think that perhaps they're just normalizing not always being enthusiastic.

Oh yeah. But then again, we're not always enthusiastic.

People are not always enthusiastic. It's just the fact that because the internet is seen as something a bit special for older generations, it is seen as a public space.

Then there is that pressure to be enthusiastic. There is the pressure to always be at your best. Whereas if you look at the internet as just basically something every day, then you don't have that same degree of pressure. Do you?

Yeah. It's kind of like I'm always here so don't expect me to be cheerful .

Yeah, pretty much.

I guess so. I guess for digital natives, there's really no need to pretend to be someone else because if their life is already always online, for digital immigrants, it's more like there's still showmanship involved.

You're trying to showcase like a better version of yourself. You don't feel truly comfortable, letting people see the vulnerable part or like the less than perfect part of yourself.

Pretty much, that's it.

All right.

排版长图：Jer.ry

文稿校对：王全勤 & Jenny

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