""Up high, down low, in heaven, six seven!" That's the gag that my kids paused over their breakfasts this morning to get me to do with them-twice. (Just as funny the second time, right?) If you're around kids at all these days, you've likely encountered this "six seven" business, the words said in a delighted lilt, and often accompanied by some kind of dance, shimmy, or hand gesture."
"I felt like the internet had colonized my seven-year-old's brain! But then I realized that, as a parent, I'm obsessed with the internet and its effect on kids, whereas he's enjoying how much "six seven" connects him with other people here in the physical world. It originated online, but the striking thing about "six seven" is how much it's an in-real-life phenomenon."
"I'll confess I find it super annoying. But I'll also admit that seeing my nine-year-old and five-year-old both participating in this mass-cultural event, independent of their parents, and obviously bonding with each other over the shared experience, is quite charming-even magical in its way. I think that kids have all sorts of mass-cultural stuff going on that, as adults, we don't know about."
"Six seven" operates as a simple vocal-and-gesture routine that children use to identify and connect with peers. The phrase originated online but has migrated into real-life performances often accompanied by dances, shimmies, and hand gestures. Children spontaneously adopt and share the routine, creating moments of bonding independent of parental involvement. Parents report mixed feelings, experiencing annoyance alongside charm at the evident social connection and sibling bonding. The trend exemplifies how playful social rituals circulate among young people and move fluidly between digital origins and physical-world interaction.
Read at The New Yorker
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