Group 7: A Crucial Indicator of the Loneliness Epidemic
Sophia James. A small indie artist trying to share her music and reach the people who will fall in love with it. That means she had to play the social media game. Trying to break through the noise on TikTok, James uploaded a series of videos placing viewers into groups. The first group was Group 4, followed by Groups 5 and 6. It seemed like this new experiment to crack the algorithm was going to be another flop— until Group 7. James doesn’t know what it was about the Group 7 video that caused it to become such a phenomenon, but it did what she wanted. Her song “So Unfair” has since gained an uptick in listeners.
I wasn’t surprised by the success of this social experiment. It was obvious that Group 7 went viral not just because she was sharing her music, but by also making it part of an identity group. What James was unknowingly tapping into was the current need to be a part of something. Despite the phones in our hands, there’s an epidemic of loneliness.
According to a Forbes article, this particular trend is considered a “millennial” meme. As someone on the cusp between millennial and Gen Z, I think the trend has attracted people across generations because they are trying to find themselves in a society where constant chaos and unrest has made it much more difficult. People from the ages of 30 to kids in their teens are trying to find anything to cling whatever helps them make sense of the world and themselves. This is a group of people who grew up either during or at the heels of the era of BuzzFeed quizzes and personality tests claiming your favorite song or breakfast sandwich revealed something essential about you.
While some people still follow the traditional path of go to college, get a job, get married, get a house, and have a kid, that path is either inaccessible or unwanted by many today. With student loan debt skyrocketing, there seems to be no end in sight. We’re seeing articles like Vogue’s “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” People may have the desire to become homeowners, but many have had to come to terms with the reality that homeownership is relic of the not so distant past. And having a kid? Few want the responsibility of molding a whole new human being when they’re struggling to maintain their own sense of self and stability.
It seems like TikTok audiences needed the next trend to help them feel like they belong somewhere. Immediately following its rise in popularity, people were posting daily debrief videos for Group 7 and saying they felt special because they belong to the “chosen” group. Being part of Group 7 didn’t just mean you were special; it meant you had community. You weren’t just another person lost in the algorithm, from one fleeting moment to another, you were tethered to someone else. Beyond our phones, the noise and chaos of the world grow, and the barrier of a cell phone screen brings protection and comfort from it. Distancing ourselves from one horror to find belonging with people also hiding behind a screen. Connected to everyone while being alone at the same time.
Maybe James wasn’t really thinking about the current sociocultural hunger for clean trends, hobbies, and other viral identities as a means for survival and distraction. But she clearly saw something in her algorithm that she was trying to crack. By tying her song to a group identity, one that didn’t exist even a few days ago, she tapped into the thing that would make people listen to her music—the need for community and identity.
