Welcome to Current Events Conversation, where each week we round up some of our favorite responses to one of our student writing prompts.
“Cooked.” “Low-key.” “Sus.” And now, the cryptic “6-7.” In her recent article, “What Does ‘6-7’ Mean? Maybe Tweens Don’t Want You to Know,” Callie Holtermann explores the latest slang trends baffling adults and taking over classrooms.
She highlights the phenomenon of “6-7,” a phrase as ubiquitous as it is meaningless. “‘Six-seven’ feels a bit like a nonsense grenade,” Ms. Holtermann writes. She asks if today’s slang is simply “brain rot” or rather a “gleeful obfuscation” designed to keep older generations in the dark.
We asked students to weigh in. Is “6-7” actually funny? Is it annoying? And what does it say about their generation? They told us about the joy of inside jokes, the desire to have a language their parents can’t decode, and the fear that “brain rot” might actually be rotting their brains. In the end, many agreed, as one student put it: “Slang is inevitable, just don’t try and understand it.”
Thank you to everyone who joined the conversation this week, including students from Fountain Valley High School in Fountain Valley, Calif.; Hanover-Horton High School in Horton, Mich.; and Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia.
Please note: Comments have been edited and condensed.
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Many students explained that their slang’s lack of meaning is exactly the point.
Current slang shows that our generation is creative, funny, and always switching things up. A lot of our slang is random on purpose, which shows that we don’t take everything too seriously and we like humor that’s playful and unpredictable. It also reveals how connected we are to social media, since trends spread fast and new phrases pop up almost every day. Most of all, it shows that we want our own identity, something that adults don’t fully understand, so slang becomes a way for us to bond, communicate, and feel part of the same culture.
I also have heard “6-7” so much this week, and although it should’ve gotten old, it still makes me laugh because the whole joke is that it means nothing. I always say it out of nowhere, especially if the numbers six or seven appear, and adults asking about it just makes the joke even funnier. What those kids in that article said was definitely right: the point is that it means nothing, and half of the humor is watching adults overthink it.
“[A] kind of gleeful obfuscation” is what I believe majority of modern “brain rot” to be. A lot of the things my peers and other kids say do not possess much meaning, yet it offers joy for no particular reason. In other words, I think “brain rot” may be a way for our generation to find joy in the simple. It is like an inside joke that only the youth can comprehend.
— Nathan, Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn, IL
Others admitted that it’s about creating a boundary between — or a bond within — generations.
In my opinion, the current slang reveals the desire to rebel against adults and parents in my generation (Gen Z). Ever since the rise of the “modern teenager” in the mid-20th century, generations of teenagers have tried to rebel against the adults who “oppress” them. The current slang reveals that teens are constantly looking for ways to communicate among themselves, excluding adults. Terms like “6-7” and “rizz” are understood by teens but remain confusing to parents, reinforcing a sense of in-group belonging.
Yes, my mom heard me saying “6-7” to a friend and asked about it later. She was genuinely curious, like she was trying to solve a puzzle. I laughed and said, “That’s the thing, Mom, there’s no real meaning!” I explained it’s just a random inside joke that makes us laugh exactly because adults don’t get it. I wasn’t annoyed, I felt kind of proud that we have our own thing that confused her in a harmless, funny way.
The slang people use now says a lot about what generation they fit into and how they connect online and with each other. Words like “delulu” for delusional or “6-7” to make a weird joke are all over TikTok and Instagram, and if you don’t keep up, you can easily get lost in the conversation. Using this kind of talk helps Gen Z and Gen Alpha show they’re up on internet culture and not stuck in the past, kind of making their own code that older people might not get.
However, plenty of students are just as annoyed by the ‘6-7’ trend as adults are.
I find it hard to concentrate in middle school, and it’s not the teachers’ fault. They’re great. The real problem is just those two numbers, 6 and 7. It was funny for the first day — no, the first three hours. It has become so overused that just typing them out genuinely fries my brain. Whenever a teacher even mentions 67 at the slightest bit, the whole class gets distracted, and I miss 30 minutes of class time that could’ve been used actually to learn.
— Joseph, Julia R. Masterman, Philadelphia PA
The meme “6-7” does not get high marks from me. In fact, I do not want to hear it again, which is impossible, because there are more than 8 billion people in the world, half of which have it in their brain and say it. My teacher gets agitated whenever she hears it, which is very often. For example: “What is … umm … six-sevenths multiplied by …” “SIX-SEVEN!” It can also appear in music class, where the teachers count our tempo like this: “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, …” and … you guessed it, pure chaos.
6-7 was funny at first. When used with correct timing, I would laugh, and have fun trying to explain it to my parents. Eventually, it got tiring. I prepare myself every math class to hear the snickers of kids around me as people list the two numbers. I don’t find joy in making my dad annoyed any time it comes up, or doing the silly little hand gesture. What started out as a little inside joke that was hidden in daily life was actively forced out and forced into conversation. The magic of the surprising reappearing numbers has faded into an overused joke.
— Cameron, Fountain Valley High School
And some worried that ‘brain rot’ is actually rotting their brains.
And now that the “6-7” trend has taken over this generation, it truly shows how immature our generation is. This also brings to my mind the brain rot that has taken over the younger generation, like elementary kids. These meaningless jokes do exactly what the name says: BRAIN ROT. Instead of children getting some sunlight and playing outside, they are stuck in front of their screens, hearing meaningless words engraved into their brains.
The thing about our slang is that, yes, it is funny to say and use, but is it really that entertaining? It’s almost as if we only know this slang because of SOCIAL MEDIA. When we use social media, we come across videos and other people creating a new “trend,” and we follow that trend. This is very common in the category of slang words. But I’ve also noticed that our generation just seems to become less and less well-spoken because we use these slang words in place of the actual dedicated words for that “slang.”
The current slang in my generation is quite unusual, to say the least. One reason is that most of it does not make sense because it lacks meaning to them. What I’m saying is that we are all doomed.
— Cameron, Hanover-Horton High School
Several students shared their favorite slang words (and defined them for us).
For me, I use slang daily. Not so much brain rot, but Philly slang. The word I use the most is definitely “youngbul.” I use youngbul everyday because you can basically use it in every sentence when you are talking to someone. Say you are out and about and a younger kid comes up to you, you can be like, “What’s up, youngbul.” Youngbul means a person that is younger than you.
— Andrew, Masterman School, Philadelphia PA
Personally, I use a lot of slang. I don’t know why, but I just do. My favorite slang word would probably be “sus.” This is because of one game. Among Us. “Sus” is short for suspicious, which means having or showing a cautious distrust of someone or something. This word got popular during 2020-2022 or “the Covid years” when Among Us was in its peak or best state.
… when I do use slang, my favorite words or phrases are “and that’s tea,” “baddie/girlie,” “being nonchalant, mysterious” and “low-key.” If I were to put it all in a sentence it would be like, “My baddie is lowkey tryna be nonchalant, mysterious, and lowkey that’s tea.”
To do a quick break down, “and that’s tea” is like a yes, get it, or that’s the story/deal, etc. “Baddie/girlie” is an endearing way to motivate or empower your friends or fellow women as it can be uncomfortable to have a random guy do it. It’s like when you’re called that, you automatically join the club of safety and closeness. “Being nonchalant, mysterious” is a funny term as it just means you don’t care or are unbothered. Yet it has the lack of seriousness when you say it. It’s more of a joke. “Low-key” is just something you can add in almost any sentence. It can mean, “yes,” “actually,” honestly,” etc.
— Alyssa, Montclair High School, CA
Slang is used everyday in my life. Whether it’s in music, conversations, or on my For You page, slang is seen everyday. My favorite slang word to use would be “mud” or “muddy.” For example, “Did you finish the homework mud?” Often used for a friend or companion.
I personally use slang a lot when I text and talk to my friends. I wouldn’t say I have a favorite slang word but I use “vroooo” and “dang” the most. Vro is just another way to say bro and dang is used to show surprise, annoyance, and sometimes frustration.
— Grace, J R. Masterman Philadelphia PA
I do not have a favorite slang word that I like to say but if I had to choose I guess it would probably be “bet.” It means sure or definitely and I like it because it’s really simple and easy to say or understand.
— Lance, Hanover Horton High School
Ultimately, many argued that while the words change, the cycle of slang is inevitable.
Let’s get one thing straight though, slang is nothing new. 6-7, skibidi, rizz and sus are just the descendants of other generations of slang like yolo, or hundo p. 6-7 is just the newest slang term. I don’t use slang that much, but when I do I like phrases like “lock in” or “giving.” For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, slang is a way of communicating, it is a common language. Every generation has one, ours is just different in that it originated on social media. The humor is the stupid phrases that only make sense to us. Eventually adults will figure out what they mean we’ll have moved on. By the time my grandpa tells me he “read about 6-7 in an article,” that’s when I know the term is really gone. I don’t know what the next slang term will be, but I know one thing for sure. Slang is inevitable, just don’t try and understand it.
— Elizabeth, Glenbard West High School
I hear “6-7” less and less as the weeks pass, and now it rarely appears on my social media. Despite the trend slowly getting old, I still smile a bit when I hear the numbers “6” and “7” consecutively. It’s not the joke itself that makes me want to laugh, but rather the nostalgic memories of my friends and I sharing smiles and laughter through two seemingly meaningless numbers.
— H., Fountain Valley High School
“6-7,” or any of the Gen Alpha slang, like “skibidi,” has had me positively perplexed ever since it started. It’s never been funny. I find it very annoying. Like many of my fellow young adults in Gen Z, I still prefer the memes and jokes that are rooted in the most popular videos from the platform Vine. Every time I pass a road construction sign, I laugh to myself and think or say, “Road work ahead? Yeah I sure hope it does.” I know my love for the older slang, and my confusion at the new stuff is just evidence of me getting older, and the constant divide between generations. The cycle will continue to repeat. Eventually, Gen Alpha will look back on their slang with fondness and be surprised by the fact that future generations won’t understand older slang, and will be just as confused by it, as those in Gen Z and older are currently by Gen Alpha’s slang.
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The post What Teenagers Are Saying About ‘6-7’ and the Era of ‘Brain Rot’ appeared first on New York Times.
