I’m Acting Like I’m Gen Z, and I Like It!

Gen Z gets a bad reputation for being lazy and having bad manners.  They stare at their phones. They don’t make eye contact. They’re allegedly too sensitive to criticism.  They can come across as rude to those of us from older generations.

I work part-time at a grocery store with a bunch of Gen Z co-workers, and I kind of like being around them.  I can sit next to them in the break room and not feel like I have to talk to them.  We just nod and stare at our phones. Sometimes we don’t even nod. This behavior is a lot different from the way I was taught to act.

When I was a kid, I was taught to be polite, even with strangers (unless they were driving a white van).  When I was a teacher from 1990-2020, I would greet co-workers and students with a “Good morning” or something similar, and most students would respond, even if they really didn’t want to.  My Gen Z co-workers in the grocery store?  If I say “Good morning,” they continue looking away, continue staring at their phones, or give me looks that read, “Why the f*** are you talking to me, Boomer?”

By the way, I’m not a Boomer. I’m Gen X. That’s completely different, but that’s for another blog post (maybe).

I was put off by this Gen Z behavior for a while.  I still fake-smiled after I’d been snubbed, but in my head I was thinking “you stuck up little pricks.”  They didn’t always behave stuck up, though. If these Gen-Z co-workers needed my help with something in the store or if I was the last available option for conversation, they’d talk to me politely, but otherwise, yeah, they came across to me as kind of rude.  Then one day it hit me (and this really shouldn’t have taken so long).

I’ve never liked being polite.

I’ve actually… kind of… hated… being polite.

I decided then to be more like Gen Z.  I don’t say “Good morning” much anymore.  I don’t make eye contact. I don’t try to make polite conversation. No more talk about the weather. I stare at my phone (or a book) but only when my back is leaned up against a wall. I still don’t stare at my phone when I’m walking, though (Gen Zers aren’t as spacially aware as they think they are).  Even  with my old teacher-in-the-hallway instincts, I like to check out my surroundings.  I don’t like getting conked on the head.  I can’t believe more Gen Zers don’t get conked on the head.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not being rude to anyone.  If somebody wants to talk to me, I’m still polite and occasionally friendly.  I don’t ignore customers or co-workers who have questions (though that’s tempting).  But I don’t feel compelled to greet everybody.  I don’t have to make eye contact.  I can just zone out.  I like zoning out.

Since I’ve cut down on meaningless polite interpersonal contact, I have more energy during and after work. Physical work at the grocery store isn’t always work to me.  Communication with other people is more draining to me than physical work.  Maybe Gen Z has it right.  

The only potential problem is that the Gen Z short attention span might rub off on

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