Twitter made the executive decision to shut down the Vine app, depriving the world of not only a creative outlet, but a source of hilarious content and inside jokes the whole internet is in on.
For three long years, the Vine app never failed to convince millions that watching and creating six second videos for hours on end counted as a hobby. The days of watching children laughing and cute animals will soon be over. Without Vine, the number “21” would be just another insignificant digit and screaming “look at all those chickens!” would be seen as a public disturbance.
In the upcoming months as the internet learns to adjust to the idea of a world without Vine, it is important to remember the good times. Vine gifted the internet with videos of song remixes and mashups. Those with talents had time to shine, however, the real winners were the losers. The off pitch and off beat singers from this Vine generation were always hilarious. There is something about people failing miserably that gives others joy. These vines will be missed by many but never forgotten.
Searching for cute animal videos will soon become a monumental task that few are truly prepared for. The images of bunnies, kittens and dogs once seared in the mind of the general public will fade. Not only will the vines of furry animals become scarce, but more importantly the vines of furry animals with adorable children will be scarce. While the loss is detrimental, the internet can only cherish the already published vines.
Vine captured the moment when Leonardo DiCaprio made an incredibly awkward face as Lady Gaga walked past him at the Golden Globes. A young girl was under the impression one said “happy birthday” instead of “trick or treat” on Halloween. It is impossible to forget the toddler who was actually thrilled to unwrap an avocado as a Christmas gift.
When Vine officially launched in 2013, phone screens lit up the world and for six seconds, perhaps not everything was similar to a dark hole of despair. Normal people turned into celebrities overnight, inspiring others everywhere. Vine told the world that all anyone had to do to be famous was to act like a bumbling buffoon.
In this graveyard of Viners lie Jerome Jarre, Liza Koshy, Us the Duo, Zach King and Thomas Sanders, to name a few.
Jarre is a French comedian with an unusually large smile on his face interacting with strangers, attempting to make them laugh.
Us the Duo are folk-pop singers who tortured their audience for months by never showing their eyes on camera. They turned their internet stardom into a successful career. They are featured in the Pentatonix 2016 World Tour and have multiple albums.
Zach King puts a “magical” twist on everyday situations by popping inanimate objects into real life. His work awed his viewers, for no one knew it was possible to pick up a taxi cab with just two hands.
Thomas Sanders made a lasting impression on his viewers with his “story time” vines, narrating the lives of strangers. Their reactions were comedic gold, as were his narrations.
Viners pushed their limits by talking as fast as possible to fit the largest amount of words into a six second time frame. Viewers would watch the videos over and over just to catch up, creating a vortex in which one wonders where all the time went. Editing advanced throughout the years allowing for more complicated and ridiculous content.
Vine is now dead, and how the public is expected to move on is a mystery. Perhaps the world will be kind enough and still provide people with their fair share of laughs. If all else fails, Youtube probably has a few videos. Rest in peace Vine.