The people yearn for community but then deny it when it’s right in front of their face.
Children across the globe are all using the term “6-7,” and it has so many adults questioning what it even means. But I think the meaning is far less important than the overall impact.
“6-7” isn’t something to be defined. It’s a feeling, a form of celebration and kids across languages are using the term to communicate.
A video went viral of a young American boy in the Netherlands yelling “6-7” across the street to a young Dutch boy who recognized the phrase. Here they shared a moment to communicate even though they speak different languages.
When I first watched this video, I did what many people my age or older do — I rolled my eyes. But after watching it a second time, I recognized how wholesome the moment they shared was.
Two kids, two different languages and upbringings but one common ground. A silly meme that has taken over the internet.
I work as a swim instructor at a luxury gym, so I work with a lot of children. A few months ago, I noticed they would snicker whenever I would count and say “five, six, seven.”
I became a bit peeved as I had seen the trend online, but I didn’t understand the point. I even had to result in asking my 15-year-old sister what it meant. To which she responded “There is no meaning.”
After weeks of avoiding the phrase, I gave in and embraced it. When I used it jokingly with my swim students they found it shocking that I knew the joke. My 5-year-old students would ask me, “How do you know that?” I would respond with the same question, and they would say they learned it from a friend at school.
Their parents were not as amused and sometimes even banned their kids from saying the phrase.
Out of habit I started using the joke at home with my friends and family.
We live in a world divided and polarized in many ways, so why are so many adults shaming and demonizing what little community children today have?
This isn’t the first time millions of people have come together to participate in a social media trend. The mannequin challenge was a global phenomenon across social media nearly 10 years ago in 2016.
Groups of people would freeze in action like mannequins while a camera moved through the scene, often set to “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd.
What started as a fun trend among students quickly spread to celebrities and corporations reaching across the world.
This brought together millions of people in a year full of tragedies like the Pulse nightclub shooting where 49 people died, making it the second-deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history and more local, 12 police officers were gunned down in Dallas. And around the world, there were terror attacks in West Africa and Belgium.
This mirrors the ongoing conflicts we see today, which is why community is more important than ever.
Social media has done a lot of damage to the human population, but one of the more positive things to come out of it is a sense of community.
The art of being able to talk with people all around the world is something truly beautiful. One of the ways we do that is from online trends and memes.
While they may seem pointless and stupid these jokes and memes are a way for children today to feel seen.
So, let’s stop judging and shaming kids for using silly little harmless phrases when in truth, it’s their way of getting through this dark world together.
