Junior Dagny Bruun has mixed feelings about the phrase “67.” Done tastefully, a 67 joke will make her laugh. But if used too much, the jokes stop being funny. Words and phrases like 67 have become an integral part of Gen Z’s current vocabulary, and they’re spreading at unprecedented speed.

A generation ago, slang might have taken months to spread through songs, TV shows or word of mouth. Now, all it takes is a few minutes online to add a new word to one’s vocabulary. Social media platforms have become the birthplace, and sometimes the graveyard, of modern lingo.

Bruun said, “I really like 67 because I see it everywhere. I feel like it follows me. It’s only funny in certain situations, like if you’re referencing something and everyone laughs at it. If it’s a good 67 joke it’s good.”

She believes that constant repetition can make a trend go stale. “When people say it non-stop … that’s annoying,” she said.

Bruun is particularly well-versed in current slang due to her job at Adventure Kids, an after school program at the lower school. The U.S.

Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory said that up to 95% of youth aged 13-17 use social media. With her position at AK, Bruun is able to see firsthand how social media slang spreads across age groups. “I’m getting sick of [slang], so hopefully [it will die out] by the end of the year. [Otherwise] historians are going to skip this era,” Bruun said.

On the other hand, ninth-grader Ferran Peckosh has a less contentious relationship with the phrase 67. “I like the phrase 67 because it’s nonsensical and it brings joy,” Peckosh said. “I think it’ll die out soon, sadly.”

Peckosh’s least favorite slang word is slay. “It’s just kind of annoying. I kind of think it’s already died out,” he said.

Senior Elzie Bieganek disagrees with Peckosh’s thoughts on the word slay, even stating a personal tie to the expression. “It just feels like it’s really special, and it just really captures my personality, my essence,” she said.

Teachers are also noticing how quickly slang moves through the halls. Science teacher Rachel Yost-Dubrow says she enjoys certain phrases.

“I like when people say ‘it’s giving,’ I just think that’s fun,” said Yost-Dubrow. “I think it’s already on the way out, but I’m going to keep using it for a long time.”

Some phrases, though, she could do without. For example, the word skibidi. “I don’t think I’ve heard very many people say ‘skibidi,’ but if they did I would not be about it,” Yost-Dubrow said. She also noted how juvenile that phrase feels. “I think it’s … on its way out anyway, but the people who still say it are in middle school.”

The life cycle of slang is shorter than ever. What’s popular this semester could be out by spring. Platforms like TikTok accelerate that process, turning inside jokes into global trends and burning them out just as fast.

Despite a rapidly changing online landscape, slang often brings people together. Whether it’s students bonding over an inside reference or teachers playfully using the same phrases as their students, the constant evolution of language keeps communication fresh, fun and dynamic.