Young people stop understanding commonly used gestures because they don't know a corded phone and use watches to pay
New technologies are coming, old gestures are disappearing
Linguists have found that the younger generation is no longer able to understand some of the previously widely used gestures that we usually use to communicate at a distance or when there is too much noise in a room. Communication expert and linguist Vyvyan Evans says that gestures and gestures that were based on now outdated technology are no longer understandable to young people. The older generation still remembers them and still sees meaning in the gesture, but young people no longer discern the meaning of such non-verbal communication.
A typical example is the good old "call me", when we put our hand to our ear with thumb and little finger raised. The motion suggests a landline receiver with a cord. But this type of device is seen less and less often by the younger generation. The proof is in a video a New York dad recently used to entertain TikTok users. When he asked his wife to indicate "I'll call you later," she classically held up her hand with straightened thumb and pinky and shook it slightly. When he asked his young children to do the same, they both simply put their outstretched palms to their ears because they no longer know the phone except as a flat plate.
The old gesture for the phone may have been current last time in the era of flip-up lids. At the end of Carly Rae Jepsen's music video for 2012's Call Me Maybe, the man after her heart winks at the guitarist in her band and gestures to him with an outstretched thumb and pinky. Who knows what the end of the clip would look like today.
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We're checking the time on our cell phones
Similarly, the call to "it's about time" or "hurry up", which takes the form of tapping the wrist of the other hand where the watch is worn, no longer makes sense to the younger generation. In fact, when they need to know what time it is, young people are more likely to look at their mobile phones. Yet people are not giving up on watches, but the way they are used is changing. In the Czech Republic, one in ten Czechs has a smartwatch, and over 12% of people use fitness bracelets, according to a survey by Mastercard last year. These technologies are used for contactless payment, measuring physical activity, sending messages, smart wake-up calls... and the question is where does finding out what time it is stand in this list.
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Payment methods have completely changed
Speaking of paying, Vyvyan Evans identified joining fingers in a pinch to signal money as another disappearing gesture. The rustling of notes is probably no longer familiar to today's youth used to paying by contactless means.
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A gesture experienced in the West - the hint of handwriting on the palm of the other hand by which customers in a restaurant used to ask the waiter for the bill (the movement mimics the writing of a cheque) - is losing its meaning altogether today. And if a young man behind the wheel is signaled by a circular motion of the wrist from a car at the next intersection, he probably won't know he's supposed to open the window. In fact, the young driver has probably never rolled down a car window in his life.
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But nothing so unnatural is happening. Similarly, the formerly widespread flourishes or gestures used by drivers in the early days of motoring, before the introduction of turn signals and uniform road rules, have disappeared.
Different countries, different meanings
Gestures are conditioned not only by generation but also by culture, linguist Vyvyan Evans points out. Every culture has its own non-verbal communication and in some cases the same gesture has a different meaning in other countries. This can sometimes lead to a major faux pas.
The classic thumbs-up, for example, can be tricky. While in most of Europe it signals that all is well, in Greece or Iran it is an insult. And you also need to be careful when hitchhiking with your hand outstretched and thumbs up - although even that's a kind of travel the younger generation won't be familiar with...
The "ok" gesture with thumb and forefinger joined in a circle has similar pitfalls. This is how divers signal to each other that it's OK. But in Brazil, Turkey or Russia, this finger-hole is considered a sexual insult. And a classic example is the cuckold, which has become the hallmark of rockers, but in the Mediterranean you use it to indicate to a man that his wife is cheating on him. In Malta, it's a protection against being bewitched.
But these gestures are not based on the technology used, so they are unlikely to change and will be around for many years to come. Incidentally, for example, the old familiar upraised middle finger was used as an insult in ancient Greece, where it was supposed to appear in several comedies.
What other gestures are on the chopping block?
You've probably also had the experience of automatically running your finger across the page while reading a printed magazine, instead of turning the page, as if you were scrolling through text on a screen. No wonder, most of us already spend more time reading from screens than reading from paper. Technology, in short, influences how we perceive the world, and it's written itself into our subconscious.
What is the next gesture to disappear from our world? Perhaps with the rise of autonomous driving, the two-handed motion that signals the turning of the steering wheel will be next on the list. Any other ideas? Post them in the comments.
