The New Insult Gesture for Gen Z Drivers

Gen Z and young millennials are using the thumbs-down gesture as a more impactful and hurtful form of expressing disapproval while driving, with the hashtag #ThumbsDown having over 16 million views on TikTok. Experts say the gesture can have a painful impact on a person due to mental shortcuts in the brain that cause immediate emotional reactions. The thumbs-down is seen as a more effective way of indicating that someone did something wrong without being crass, and has caused some reckless and distracted drivers to modify their dangerous behaviors behind the wheel.