No more Bird-Flipping!

Published: March 16, 2023, 9:54 p.m.

We’ve all heard the studies that show Utah has one the biggest road rage problems in America.  It seems we're constantly muttering farm words under our breath..waving certain fingers with reckless abandon … and generally behaving badly behind the wheel.


It’s rude. It’s dangerous. But maybe… things are gonna get a little bit better…. thanks to a new Gen Z trend that’s just now showing up in some other cities.
Always changing the rules of the game… it seems some 20-something drivers don’t flip people off anymore.  Because using the finger is so passe.. So Gen X.  So boring.


In a snap poll… I asked 3 coworkers in their 20s whether they use their fingers.  Two of them … women… said yeah I flipped somebody off on the way to work this morning. But a lot of 20-somethings elsewhere don’t do it anymore… instead… opting to give other drivers … a thumbs down. 


These 20-somethings… who won’t use the smiley emoji because they consider it rude… think the thumbs-down hits differently.  It feels like disapproval from your mom.  It doesn’t mean I’m enraged.  It means… shame on you.   here are thousands of posts about the thumbs down on social media…   I haven’t seen a thumbs-down yet…but this is one trend that can’t get here soon enough.