'Doi Doi Doi' is the New 6-7 (And Yep, Millennials Coined it First)

Just when you thought you'd figured out what the whole 6-7 thing was all about (i.e., nothing), your kid comes home with a new trend and you're back in decipher-mode. And no, we're not talking about Group 7.

The latest sound echoing through Gen Alpha classrooms, all over TikTok and probably your living room? The “doi doi doi” (or “girl-girl-girl”) trend.

If this sounds familiar, it's because this bizarre gesture/sound combo was popular in the ’90s and early ’00s. You basically cup your hand near your mouth with your pinky pointed up and say “doi doi doi” (or “girl girl girl”).

Middle school teacher Mr. Lindsey recently broke it down on TikTok: “Over the last couple of weeks, you’ve probably seen an uptick in your kids, in the classrooms and at home, making this weird noise with their hands over their mouth like this,” he says in the video, demonstrating how to do it. “You either say 'girl girl girl' or 'doi doi doi' so much that it makes it sound funny.”

And while Mr. Lindsey is quick to note that Gen Alpha didn’t invent it, he does confirm it’s officially back.

The reboot appears to stem from a viral interview between live-streamer Kai Cenat and America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel. At one point, Cenat asked Mandel to watch his talent, which was—you guessed it—the doi doi doi sound.

Thanks to that viral moment, there are now tutorials on TikTok on how to do it and teachers reporting that it has become the latest Gen Alpha slang across classrooms. And, like so much else that seems to amuse this particular cohort, this particular slang means...nothing. (Seriously, it’s just a funny noise that kids make whenever they feel like it.)

Predictably, millennial parents are not happy about it. One commentator on Mr. Lindsey's video wrote: “They can’t have DOI DOI DOI. thats ours !!!! -kids from 2002.” Another added: “I did this years ago in the 90s in middle school.”

Even celebrities are feeling the déjà vu. Hilaria Baldwin recently posted a video with her son, explaining that he thought his generation had invented it—until she did it herself and reminded him otherwise.

So yeah, 'doi doi doi' has officially made its comeback. What's next, frosted tips and “talking to the hand?” Hey, you heard it here first.