The “67” meme is practically everywhere these days. You’ll hear kids chanting it at games and TikTok clips looping it nonstop, as well as a few brands using it to promote their products. No wonder so many people feel exhausted hearing about it. However, the 67 meme is more than simply something funny. It’s a sign of how language evolves now. How exactly? Let’s find out.
Where “67” came from
Let’s quickly go over where the meme came from. It started with the 2024 song “Doot Doot (6 7)”, which features the 67 phrase in the hook. It’s unclear what exactly the number refers to, though. Some sources say it’s 67th Street in Philadelphia, while others claim it’s from the “10-67” police code. This is used in some regions for reports of a dead body.
Whatever the meaning, the song is what pushed the number into wide use. People began using the number on TikTok edits of NBA basketball players. It then broke out beyond social media when 12-year-old Maverick Trevillian yelled “six-seven!” at a youth basketball game. Soon enough, videos of him doing the chant went viral, and he was named the “67 kid.”
How 67 began disrupting the classrooms
Students across America began shouting the meme during regular school hours. This included during attendance and quizzes, even at lunchtime, you name it. It happened so frequently that some schools and teachers “banned” the meme in the class. That is, they disciplined students who shouted the number out randomly, not the number itself.
Some teachers got creative with their punishments. For example, some of them would dock 67 behavior points from any student disrupting the class with the meme, while others made their students write 670 words on why yelling the meme is disruptive.
Numbers as slang
Interestingly, 67 is hardly the first number to become part of slang. Americans used “23 skidoo” in the early 1900s. It was a phrase that was more similar to the 67 meme than most people realize, as 23 skidoo never had a fixed meaning, either. Later generations also used numbers like “143” to say “I love you” in the days when texting a message was more expensive.
It doesn’t matter that the meaning isn’t clear with 67. Why? Because the sound itself has become the main thing people latch onto, rather than the backstory. People can use the meme to refer to whatever they want. It’s not entirely unusual for this to happen with number-based slang. The number itself often survives longer than the meaning that started it.
What linguists say about internet slang and youth talk
Many linguists, including David Crystal and Gretchen McCulloch, have written about the internet’s impact on youth language. They claim it has made quick, informal writing part of daily life.
Crystal states that digital communication widened how people use English by including more spaces for people to play with spelling and use short forms. We also use more clipped phrases. McCulloch claims social media helps slang travel faster because people can watch others use a new word in real time. They’re then able to copy it instantly.
But that’s not all. Studies by linguist Sali Tagliamonte have explored how teens use online conversations to mix spelling with emojis and running jokes while also keeping most standard grammar patterns the same. Of course, this wasn’t something that began with the internet, but rather, the internet helped to make it more popular.
Memes as little language units
Linguists have looked into memes more generally. They refer to them in linguistics journals as small packets of communication, including pictures, captions, jokes, and, more recently, sounds that people can remix endlessly. Research in Signs and Society found that memes don’t even have to have a clear definition to spread. They just need to be easy to recognize.
A meme can shrink a whole feeling into one gesture or number. It’s exactly what’s happening with the “67” meme. The viral sound and hand motion have become something that people can use in practically anything they’re talking about. It doesn’t need to have anything to do with the number itself.
How “67” fits current patterns of online language change
“Algospeak” is a new term that refers to the effect that social media algorithms are having on the way that we speak. Many platforms often push people toward certain phrases or sounds simply because those clips get replayed more often. This makes them a more standard part of our language.
Linguist Adam Aleksic has discussed how expressions like “POV” or “it’s giving” have spread in such a way. Millions of people see these phrases online. Then, they reuse them because they’re already on their social media feeds. Once you factor in how texting and DMs have allowed for shorter and quicker communication, it’s relatively easy for new slang to take off. The 67 meme is just another part of the way in which language evolves almost instantly.
Why there’s no need to worry
Adults were worried about teen slang in the 1980s and the 1950s. They were even worried about it earlier than that. Essentially, the “67” meme is part of a long timeline of young people playing with language. It only feels new these days because the tools that they use to do this have changed.