The “67” Craze Illustrates How Generation Alpha Will Change the World

People often underestimate kids.

Every older generation thinks the next one is distracted, strange, addicted to technology, or impossible to understand. But Generation Alpha is growing up in the most connected environment in human history, and that changes everything.

They are not learning the internet.

They are native to it.

Generation Alpha was born into a world of AI, livestreams, instant translation, viral video, global gaming communities, and algorithms that connect millions of people in seconds. To them, talking to someone across the planet while playing a game, watching videos, and chatting in real time is normal.

That creates a generation that thinks differently.

Older generations were taught to wait for permission:

from schools, companies, publishers, television networks, or governments.

Generation Alpha is learning that a single person with a phone can reach millions.

That changes culture.

It changes business.

And eventually, it changes society itself.

You can already see it happening.

A random joke from kids on TikTok can spread across the entire internet in days. Slang like “67” appears seemingly out of nowhere and suddenly shows up everywhere — in comments, gaming communities, memes, videos, even advertising campaigns. Companies now chase trends started by kids because the corporations no longer fully control culture online.

Generation Alpha does.

But the bigger change is not memes.

It’s mindset.

Generation Alpha is growing up in a world where AI can answer questions instantly, teach skills, create art, generate videos, write code, translate languages, and connect people globally. This generation may become the first in history where massive numbers of young people can build businesses, entertainment brands, games, inventions, or entire communities directly from their bedrooms.

A kid with creativity and internet access can now compete with organizations that once required millions of dollars.

That is revolutionary.

Generation Alpha is also likely to become the most globally connected generation ever. Their friendships, influences, humor, and communities are increasingly international instead of local. A kid in Pennsylvania may share more culture with a gamer in Brazil, Japan, or Poland than with adults in their own town.

The borders between cultures are weakening online.

And that may eventually reshape how people think about the world itself.

Of course, there are dangers too.

Constant algorithms can damage attention spans.

Social media can become addictive.

AI can manipulate people as easily as it helps them.

And growing up online means growing up under constant pressure to perform.

Generation Alpha will have to learn balance in a world no previous generation had to survive.

But they also have tools no previous generation ever possessed.

They may become the first generation able to:

• learn almost anything instantly,
• collaborate globally from childhood,
• use AI as a creative partner,
• and solve problems at a speed humanity has never seen before.

The world they inherit will be difficult.

But they may also be the generation most capable of rebuilding it.

And if the early signs are any indication, they’re going to do it in ways nobody expects.