‘6-7‘ Disrupts Classrooms:โฃ The Viral Trend Sweeping Schools Explained
WASHINGTON – โ Classrooms across the country are experiencing a peculiarโ disruption: students โspontaneously shouting “6-7.” Theโฃ seemingly random outburst โฃis the latest viral trend taking hold among young people, leaving parents and educatorsโ baffled. While the origin remains somewhat murky, experts say the phrase has become a generational code word, fueledโข by social media and a playful defiance of authority.
The trend’s roots appear to trace back to a March videoโฃ posted โฃby โขbasketball influencer Cam Wilder on YouTube, capturing two teenagers at an Amateur Athletic Union game uttering “6-7” to the camera.โข More recently, Charlotte Hornets playerโข LaMelo Ball, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall, amplified the trend by incorporating the phrase and associatedโ music into TikTok videos.
“Because โฃthere’s nothing that middle schoolers or elementary schoolers like moreโข than to have teachers get upset and try to โขtake action againstโค something, especially if the something is impossible to โขban,” explainedโค Dr. Candice North, โa youth culture researcher.โ She notes the โinherent challenge in suppressing the โฃphrase, as the numbers 6 and 7โ areโค unavoidable in everyday life, even โขwithinโข educational settings – โappearing in math problems orโ simplyโ as part of the date.
according toโ north,”Six,seven” functions as a secret code,offering a sense of belonging โฃand shared experience for kids. “It’s almost become a game because kids have realized that adults can’t avoid sometimes sayingโข or being exposed to the numbers 6 and 7 because they’re a part of everyday life.” She confessed, with a PhD, โshe’d deliberately seek out opportunities to say the numbers if a teacher forbade โit.
the rapid spread of “6-7” highlights the power โof social media in accelerating generational trends, though their lifespanโ tends to be shorter than in the past. Previous viral phrases, like “skibidi”โ – originating from a computer-animated video – have quickly faded from popularity.
Educational consultant Maria Trujillo suggests the trend may be a lighthearted response to โฃthe pressures facing young people. “When you think about all of the things that our kids go through in this โageโฆmaybe it’s this generation telling usโ to lighten up a little.”