Older generations criticize Generation Z’s silent walking trend

If you’re starting to tire of the infamous “Hot Girl Walk” and are craving something a little more low-key, Generation Z has adopted a new name for a decades-old practice: walking outside.

The trend Gen Z is calling “silent walking” is simple: People turn off their phones and experience walking without distractions. Unsurprisingly, older generations mock the newfound interest in walking and claim that Generation Z is “not doing anything new.” But for a generation of chronic social media users, unplugging, getting outside, and finding some peace amid the chaos of the digital landscape is essential.

Generation Z’s interest in “quiet walking” to relieve stress has older generations scoffing at the trend.

Self-proclaimed “movement creator” Mady Maio called silent walking “transformative” and is urging younger generations to create space for movement without technological distractions like YouTube videos, podcasts or music.

“My sweet boyfriend challenged me to walk without distractions,” she said in her first video. “No AirPods, no podcasts, no music, just me, myself and I. At first I thought my fear could never make it.”

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However, as she later admitted in the video and in several other videos on her platform, “silent walking” completely changed her perspective on mindfulness.

“The first two minutes are chaos. Your mind is racing, you’re going to be scared, but after that something happens,” Maio explained. “Your brain just goes into a flow state.”

Silent walking emerged in response to an overwhelming feeling of fatigue from technological distractions.

According to a Pew Research survey, nearly half of teenagers in the U.S. said that not having their phone within reach causes anxiety. Conversely, a whopping 72% admitted that they feel “peaceful” when they unplug. The statistics aren’t surprising, considering a recent Harris Poll found that nearly half of Generation Z wish social media would simply cease to exist.

What young people say is simple. They are increasingly averse to the digital world and the simple act of taking a walk without distractions provides them with a modicum of peace. Is it new? NO! Is it important? Definitely not.

It’s healthy to get outside, reconnect with nature, and stop scrolling. Not only does it promote activity, but it has also been proven to boost mood, relieve stress and anxiety, and increase productivity.

“It really changed my life,” Julia Salvia said on TikTok about the silent walking trend. “I’ve been plugging in my headphones for a year [for walks] but nothing turned on. I’m so glad Mady came up with a term for it…It cured my fears.”

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Salvia claimed that the activity not only relieves stress and eases her anxiety, but also increases her creativity and productivity.

“Innovation is part of our world. “Everything has its advantages and disadvantages,” she added in response to a critical comment about the term. “When you embrace change, you can be more open to the positive.”

Why is this trend of silent walking so offensive to older generations, who often shame Gen Z and Millennials for their addiction to technology?

Older generations are critical of silent walking mainly because Generation Z tries to describe it as something new that they have created.

“I have no problem with walking silently. “It seems like good practice,” a Daily Wire commenter adds in Maio’s original video. “The problem is the ignorance that makes these TikTok influencers think they came up with this idea themselves… They ‘thought up the movement,’ she boasts.”

Studies such as one by Dr. Ney and Dr. Fischweicher in the Journal of Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities, suggest that intergenerational resentment and the inherent entitlement of individuals, regardless of age, have increased enormously in recent decades, particularly in the face of technological growth.

There is a clear frustration with the possession rather than the act of actually walking, which is likely fueled by the demands of older generations suggested in similar studies – this is something they have been doing for decades, perhaps not of their own free will, but out of necessity.

Everyone needs to remember the following: Criticism between older and younger generations has always existed and always will. Social media, the thing that everyone is desperate to break away from, but which seems to do more than just highlight the criticism and make it more accessible. Wait a decade with Generation Z, because Generation Alpha will probably give you a hard time for their criticism too.

Despite the controversy surrounding “silent walking,” the truth is that it’s a good thing for everyone, and who cares what it’s called?

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Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment journalist at YourTango focusing on health and wellness, social policy and human interest stories