One yappuccino, please

I love yapping. I love yapping so much that my friends call me a “Division I yapper.” You can find me during study breaks in the Central Campus Classroom Building teaching my course “Yapology 101.” But unfortunately, even though I pride myself on being a yapper, being called one is often an insult, not a compliment. 

I understand why people don’t like yappers. When I’m sitting in a lecture and the professor is yapping instead of teaching or when I am in a discussion section and a student monopolizes the conversation to yap, I get annoyed because they’re wasting everyone’s time. If I’m in a designated no-talking zone and I hear people yapping next to me, I get frustrated that they are disturbing others who are trying to focus. While I agree there is a time and a place to yap, it’s here to stay. Everybody, regardless of how old they are, should embrace yapping as another opportunity to genuinely connect with people in their lives. 

Although yapping has exploded in popularity over the past year, thanks to Generation Z — the word isn’t new. “Yap” originated in the 1600s and was meant to describe a small, high-pitched dog. Since then, the word evolved from “small chatter” in the 19th century to today’s definition meaning to “talk in a shrill and insistent way” or, in other words, “talking for a long time about something ostensibly pointless.”

One major reason why yapping gets a bad reputation is because of its implicit misogyny. Because the original definition described a “small, high-pitched dog,” women are more likely to be associated with the term than men. Although it is assumed that women talk more than men, the opposite is true. Similarly, even though it is believed that women gossip more, they actually gossip evenly

Regardless of gender, yapping is an excellent method to build relationships with others in social settings. About 73% of Gen Z feel lonely. While we are more connected than ever through social media, people don’t go out of their way to socialize. The internet cannot replace physical connection or a phone call with friends. Seeing someone post on Instagram is different from engaging in conversation. Yap sessions with others can help bring more people together. When I’m deep in yap sessions with my friends, even if the topic is meaningless, it shows that we feel comfortable around each other.

Yap sessions with friends can also lead to getting real with our emotions. It’s easy to get caught up in doom-scrolling on the internet, but talking it out with friends and venting can help ease anxiety and prevent overthinking. Venting also helps lower blood pressure, improve sleep pattern habits and decrease depression.

Yap sessions have net benefits for all kinds of social settings, even with people we don’t know very well. Gen Z is particularly uncomfortable with silence, in part due to the internet. While silence is a part of our everyday lives, yapping helps ease that awkwardness we feel when nobody is talking. When I see someone who I don’t know very well in a classroom yapping about something they’re passionate about, it makes me feel more inclined to participate. When I enter a store and see workers chit-chatting instead of radio silence, I feel more comfortable asking for help. 

As us Gen Zers enter the workforce, we shouldn’t leave our yapping behind. Workplace culture is changing, largely thanks to Gen Z. We are less hierarchical than our parents, we strive for a healthy work-life balance and value open communication and collaboration. Because young employees want more authenticity, they are more likely to make small-talk in the office. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean we should yap our coworkers’ ears off, especially if they’re on the more introverted side. But increased communication with other employees benefits the entire workplace as a whole, not just Gen Z. Providing channels for workers to openly communicate about what is happening in the company and why increases collaboration. Bringing people together by working together leads to increased productivity across all departments. 

Companies should encourage yapping, especially if they want young retainment. Frequent yapping in an office setting exhibits workers feeling appreciated, heard and comfortable, allowing for friendships to bloom. Companies with high employee engagement saw 43% less turnover than companies with low engagement. When more employees are friends (not close friends) with each other outside of the workplace, conversations become more innovative, which benefits the organization and can lead to younger employees sticking around for longer. 

At the end of the day, yapping helps build community. Who knows, maybe that one colleague you sit across from or that one person in your lecture will be receptive to your yapping. I’ll take my yappuccino with extra yap, please.

Liv Frey is an Opinion Columnist writing about any and all kinds of relationships one can encounter in college. For questions, comments, concerns, inquiries or theories please reach out at livfrey@umich.edu.

The post One yappuccino, please appeared first on The Michigan Daily.


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *