What the heck is “Group 7″… and are you in it?!
It feels like an understatement to say that TikTok is a social media platform unlike any other. Certain accounts can become staples in your online diet, whether they’re humans with unique points of view or skillsets, or Muppets crashing out while listening to the hottest music.
But in the process, inside jokes and subcultures and the platform’s digital language can change in an instant. You can log onto TikTok and suddenly be thrown into a world or vocabulary that you didn’t even know existed. This week, two simple words seem to have thrown a lot of people into that state of disarray: “Group 7.”
If you scrolled TikTok for long enough this week, there’s a chance you either stumbled upon a video or a comment section hyping up Group 7, without much context for what that means. I, personally, briefly thought that it was either an evolution of the “which lunch table are you sitting at” meme from a few years ago, or a new way to joke about having a mom who took Tylenol. But as it turns out, Group 7 has its own specific lore, one that is weirdly emblematic of what TikTok is capable of.
The term Group 7 was coined by singer and former American Idol contestant Sophia James, through a series of videos made to promote her newest single, “So Unfair.” As James explained to The New York Times, she made seven different videos with slightly different qualities, in an attempt to game the TikTok algorithm into sharing her song with as many users as possible.
“You just have to post no matter what it is — it’s really quantity over quality,” James explained. “And so in my pursuit to get my music heard, I’ve really been trying all of these different strategies.”
The actual Group 7 video is, in the grand scheme of things, innocuous. As James says, “If you’re watching this video, you are in Group 7. I have posted seven videos tonight, and this is the seventh one. Just as a little science experiment, to see what video, what kind of video gets the most reach out of the seven. And I don’t know what that says about you, but you’re in Group 7. Welcome.”
So… what does it mean?
While James’ social experiment might not be Nathan Fielder levels of complicated, it ultimately paid off. For one reason or another, her Group 7 video was the first to blow up. With (at the time of this writing) 70 million views, 8.2 million likes, and nearly half a million comments, it still remains the clear frontrunner of her seven videos, each of which have now garnered millions of views from curious TikTokers over the past week. James herself has gotten more than 100,000 new followers on the platform, as well as an increased interest in her music.
So, why did Group 7 become popular? Part of it might be due to the weird way the TikTok algorithm works, prioritizing topics that a user actually stops and watches, much less engages with in some other way. If James’ Group 7 video ended up on someone’s feed and they happened to take an interest in it, other videos talking about Group 7 inevitably followed.
But part of it might be due to the weird fandom that has risen up around Group 7, trying to assign it the meaning that James doesn’t give in her initial video. Group 7 “members” have christened each other as cool kids, baddies, and basically every other positive qualifier under the sun. A community has formed, to the point of James even organizing an in-person meetup for November 1st. Brands have, of course, gotten in on the game, with Netflix even creating a playlist of movies and shows for members.
A controversial (and debatable) rule has also sprung up: you’re only truly in Group 7 if the video organically ended up on your FYP, and not if you sought it out. But at this point, given just how popular the phrase has gotten over the past week, I don’t know if that really matters. While writing this article, I went back and checked my TikTok history since James’ original Group 7 video was posted, just in case it had ended up on my feed and I hadn’t realized it. It didn’t end up on my feed, but I’ve still been fed enough about Group 7 to feel like I am part of the group: from the official Chicago Bears account, from some of my favorite actresses, and in the comments of random videos about snack plates and fashion choices.
Some (myself included) have even started to wonder if Group 7 might be the only group, and everyone is just using it as an opportunity to gas each other up. Regardless, it is a brief (albeit confusing) bit of camaraderie in a world that could always use more of it.
(featured image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
