Adults are at their wits’ end when it comes to “6-7.” That’s what led sheriffs in Indiana to issue tickets to any elementary school students who engaged in the joke, in an effort to keep parents and other grown-ups “sane” while they wait out the trend’s popularity. 

CNN reporter Scottie Andrew explained, “It’s a joke without a punchline (or a setup, for that matter). 6-7 means nothing, but using it can make a student feel like a member of a bigger, cooler group of their peers.” 

And that is what 6-7 is in a nutshell. It’s a way for kids to identify with peers and distinguish themselves from little kids and grown-ups. It might be annoying and nonsensical to the rest of us, but the reality is, it’s totally normal and nothing new.

Sheriffs issued ‘tickets’ to elementary school students in Indiana for saying 6-7.

To the absolute delight of adults everywhere, the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office, based in Lafayette, Indiana, posted a video showing two Student Resource officers entering a school, handing out fake tickets to students in classrooms and the cafeteria for saying “6-7.”

The caption to the video read: “Breaking News: These brave School Resource Officers entered a local elementary school to shut down the usage of the phrase ‘6 7.’ Tickets (fake) were handed to as many students using the phrase as possible. We appreciate the support as our SROs work tirelessly to keep parents sane during this time.”

As part of the fun, the Sheriffs joked that now that the county declared the phrase “illegal,” they were sure to give out … drumroll … at least “6-7 tickets.” The corny joke was a community-building exercise intended to bridge the gap between adults and kids by using language that the tweens could relate to. It’s also completely normal kid behavior. Linguist Taylor Jones explained to CNN, “6-7 serves a critical social function. It’s a shibboleth, or a phrase that signifies that one belongs to an ‘in’ group.”

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Kids’ obsession with the trend is a way to share and build community with their peers.

6-7 is just a way for younger people who aren’t little kids anymore and not quite adults to individualize. It connects and creates autonomy. The meaning behind the connection is inconsequential, meaning the joke doesn’t matter. There are entire Reddit discussions where millennials discuss their own version of “6-7,” proving that the joke doesn’t matter and the cycle always continues.

The officers in the video charged students with “Indiana code 6-7,” making it illegal to even utter the phrase, “unless using it in a math problem or someone’s age.” Unsurprisingly, unity among students quickly followed as they performed the gesture that coincided with the trend with their hands: the ultimate act of civil disobedience.

The officers are shown dishing out ticket after ticket as the students cheer and laugh throughout. “I can’t believe we issued so many tickets!”

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Adults who acknowledge and understand why kids react to it, rather than getting annoyed, are better equipped to redirect.

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Offending students in the video were released with a box of donuts for their time served. A light sentence for those who are busy building sentences in their three-body paragraph essays every other day.

The purpose of the police intervention is what makes it so effective. It’s something teacher Gabe Dannenbring stands behind. His 6-7 diffusion tactic is to “acknowledge it, then it gets over with in about 15 seconds.”

In the same way, the SROs in Indiana are satirizing the joke, validating its presence as a joke, yet policing its annoyance. An overused joke proves its innocent roots in inclusion and exploring comedy from the student to the collective student body. They could be saying worse because there has been worse.

Filterless talking is middle school; let them have this for six or seven more weeks until updated slang takes over. Soon enough, they’ll be the generation annoyed by the latest trend.

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Emi Magaña is a queer Latinx writer from Los Angeles with a bachelor’s in English. She covers entertainment, news, and the real human experience. More of her non-fiction essays belong to CHAPSTICK online magazine and her Substack.