What Happened to Manners? A Look at Gen Z Teens

The Moment That Sparked This Reflection

I needed to pick up something at the mall, and as I crossed the street toward the entrance, I saw a young mom struggling to open the door while pushing her baby in a stroller. Behind her, a group of Gen Z teens approached. I thought, “Oh good, they’ll help.” But they didn’t.

Heads down, earbuds in, they walked past without noticing. I ran up and held the door not out of heroism, but out of habit. That moment wasn’t about me. It was about what’s missing: basic manners.

From Screens to Silence: What Gen Z Was Handed

We’re living in a time when many Gen Z kids were handed smartphones before they were taught how to hold a door, say “thank you,” or offer help. It’s not entirely their fault. It’s what was modeled or more accurately, what wasn’t.

Parents, overwhelmed or distracted, often handed over devices instead of presence. Emotional outsourcing became the norm. Screens replaced conversations. And somewhere in that exchange, empathy got lost.

Modeling Matters: Why Manners Aren’t Inherited

This isn’t a generational attack. It’s a pattern worth naming. Because when respect isn’t taught, it doesn’t show up. And when empathy isn’t modeled, it doesn’t grow.

We can’t expect kids to act with kindness if they’ve never seen it lived out. Manners aren’t genetic. They’re passed down through example, through repetition, through real-world moments like the one I witnessed.

So yes, I held the door. But more importantly, I held space for what’s missing and what we can still teach.

A Call to Re-Engage, Not Blame

Footnote: On Manners, Modeling, and Gen Z
Many Gen Z kids weren’t taught to notice. They were handed iPhones instead of moral compasses. In homes where emotional presence was outsourced to screens, empathy wasn’t modeled, civic behavior wasn’t reinforced, and public respect became optional.

This isn’t a blanket judgment it’s a call to re-engage. Manners aren’t generational. They’re modeled. And if we want Gen Z to show up with respect, we have to show them what that looks like.