Recently, internet phenomena like “6-7” and Italian brainrot have consumed Gen Z social media feeds, raising questions about their impact on communication and humor for younger generations.
The “6-7” phrase originated from rapper Skrilla’s 2024 track “Doot Doot (6 7)” and spread through basketball highlight reels featuring LaMelo Ball, who stands 6 feet 7 inches tall. High school basketball player Taylen Kinney popularized an accompanying hand gesture in December 2024 while rating a Starbucks drink “6-7” out of 10, pushing the meme further into mainstream youth culture.
Dictionary.com selected “6-7” as its 2025 Word of the Year despite having no actual definition. The phrase spread rapidly through TikTok videos, eventually disrupting classrooms nationwide. Teachers have reported students shouting it constantly whenever the numbers appear on textbook pages or clocks, with one teacher recording 75 interruptions in a single school day.
Students have noticed these trends permeating daily conversations and classroom environments. “I think the 6-7 and brainrot trends are a reflection of our generation’s poor humor,” said senior Tiffany Ku. “Personally, they can be a bit annoying as people constantly mention them. I don’t think they’re harmful, more so just a nuisance.”
The trends serve social functions beyond simple entertainment,creating social groups unified by shared knowledge where those who understand the reference feel included, while outsiders are left puzzled. The phrase functions as a discourse marker, contributing social meaning rather than literal definition. This allowed for kids to participate in a shared culture their parents don’t grasp.
However, some students view these trends as actively harmful rather than inoffensive amusement. “I think that brainrot trends are harmful because they provide meaningless content to pass time instead of doing something productive,” said senior Colin Merrell. “Watching brainrot inhibits people’s abilities to think, and it should be discouraged from youth.”
Oxford picked “brainrot” as its 2023 Word of the Year. The term refers to the mental fog that comes from consuming too much low-quality social media content. Gen Alpha, the first generation raised entirely online, speaks a language shaped by algorithms and memes. Social media algorithms have become “a new inflection point for language,” influencing which words stick and how they spread.
Italian brainrot represents another facet of this phenomenon. The trend emerged in early 2025 when content creators began experimenting with AI image generators to create surreal hybrid creatures. The trend featured AI-generated animals fused with food items or objects, paired with exaggerated Italian-American accents and nonsensical phrases. A TikTok nursery rhyme called “Trallallero Trallallà” paired with an AI-generated shark wearing blue shoes launched the phenomenon.
The AI-generated content allowed kids to create and share their own versions using free, accessible tools. Other content included cats fused with pasta dishes or pigeons with spaghetti wings, each given exaggerated Italianized names. The trend combined technological accessibility with absurdist humor, reflecting how AI technologies shape modern creativity and meme culture.
Teachers have attempted various strategies to combat classroom disruptions. Some even incorporate the phrase into lesson plans or use it incorrectly to diminish its appeal among students. A Michigan middle school choir teacher incorporated “6-7” into warmup songs alongside other Gen Alpha slang to preempt student outbursts. One middle school teacher noted the slang shows up in daily conversation more than expected, with meanings changing at a rapid pace.
Despite these efforts, the “6-7” trend has survived nearly a year, an unusually long lifespan for internet slang, likely because adults have reacted so strongly to it. “I think this meme will last as long as many other memes, so about a year max,” said Ku. “It may have a lasting effect, but something more equally dumb will definitely take its place.”
Dictionary.com noted how the phrase represents internet culture’s culmination, describing it as “meaningless, ubiquitous and nonsensical” with “all the hallmarks of brainrot” and “the logical endpoint of being perpetually online.” Platforms prioritize engagement over quality, creating feedback loops rewarding the most absurd content.
Teachers report students struggling to maintain focus on material that requires sustained attention. The expectation of constant entertainment makes traditional learning methods feel tedious compared to rapid-fire TikTok videos. The participatory nature of these trends means kids actively create and remix content rather than passively consuming it, distinguishing modern brainrot from simple content consumption.
Over time, brainrot jokes and memes degrade humor itself. They condition audiences to expect nothing from entertainment beyond random stimulation, eroding appreciation for genuine comedic craft. The exposure to meaningless content dulls sensitivity to substance. As each trend replaces the last, the collective standard for entertainment continues to decline. What seems harmless in isolation threatens to make an entire generation’s relationship with meaningful communication and authentic humor shallow.
