nostalgia-and-vine-blog

[nostalgia-and-vine-blog]

Closing Thoughts

Ultimately, it is hard to conclude whether or not our generation truly feels nostalgia for Vine at this time. However, once something is gone, I think many agree that the seeds of nostalgia are planted into society and begin to grow. Nostalgia most likely isn’t complete yet because part of Vine still exists and is easily accessible. Nonetheless, many people (myself included) still harbor feelings of yearning for a time when new content was being created every second. I think many apps have tried to fill the gap that Vine has left behind, however, I don’t believe that anything will truly be what Vine was for our generation of Internet users.

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Nostalgia and Vine

I tended to get a lot of mixed bag answers about Vine making people nostalgic, however, one thing is clear: People still think fondly of Vine. It may be the obscure definition of the word itself, or it might also be the uncertainty of whether or not enough time has passed to qualify the feelings shared about vine as “nostalgic”. For many, time didn’t matter whether or not they felt nostalgic. Others didn’t see their feelings towards Vine as nostalgic because of it still being easily accessible.

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“I'm very nostalgic about vine because my friends and I used to sit together for hours and show each other funny vines. It was a great way to pass the time when we got really bored. I have to say finding some of my favorite Vine creators like Nick Colletti* with my friends was so great. Just thinking about it brings back a lot of memories of the good old days.”  

-Hazen W.

*Hazen’s favorite Nick Colletti Vine --- “2004 breakups” https://vine.co/v/OV5W0V7YamB

“I am nostalgic about vine, like I said it was a huge ordeal that people are going to start forgetting and it makes me a little sad. However, it also makes me feel good that I got to live through it and enjoy it. Vine was painfully relatable. The “Ho Yeah” Vine** was my absolute favorite video, and I’m not quite sure if it’s because it’s so funny or if it’s because I’m nostalgic for all the times all of my friends and I have quoted it. If anything Vine ending is bittersweet, but I’m glad it happened.”

-Andrea B.

**https://vine.co/v/hrAXubzumpA 

“I don’t know if ‘nostalgic’ is the right term. I think it was ripped away from us too soon, and I find a lot of joy in rewatching old vines or discovering ones I’ve never seen - but I think it’ll be hard to be nostalgic about it until people younger than me don’t remember what it was.”

-Meredith W.

“Yeah, I would say I'm nostalgic. I wish there was still a way to access the accounts and see all the videos that used to make me laugh. The new camera is really not the same and its kind of a lame way of replacing the app. I honestly don't fully understand why they decided to end the app like they did but oh well.”

- Daniel C.

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Will Vine Be Lost to the Sands of Time?

Again, this is an answer that seemed to be uncertain. Many seemed to be optimistic and believe that it would continue to live on through us and revert to oral tradition of the great legend that was Vine. I, myself, am not so sure. It seems to me it might be something that we alone will cherish, but I believe time will tell. One thing is for certain: We will absolutely be nostalgic about Vine in the future.

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“I don't think vine will be forgotten. People are still doing threads on twitter of their favorite vines. I even made my own favorite vines* thread. I think just the convenience of having it short and simple really intrigues people as well. I'll never forget about it.”

-Erin G.

*A few of Erin’s favorite vines -    

https://vine.co/v/eJV0ueTKxLV

https://vine.co/v/b02YnMJwgFD 

https://vine.co/v/OE1TDZAIwjM

https://vine.co/v/iwjHthlamZO

“I think it will be easily forgotten because it came and went so quickly, and it was so immensely popular. It left us with an estranged group of people who all get these references and vines, but now that it’s gone it's just going to fizzle out eventually.”   

-Will H.

“I think vine won't be remembered by younger kids just because they never had it. And it’s the worst because some vines were incredible! Do you remember the baby metal vine**? Classic. 

I guess Instagram and Twitter videos have somewhat filled the hole that vine left, but for the kids that regularly used vine I don't think we'll ever forget it.”

-Keanu H.  

**”Baby Metal” Vine - https://vine.co/v/eFOtUlDVABm

“Yes, I think vine as a social media will disappear from public memory, but vines themselves will be around for a while. I don’t think their longevity will last beyond our lifetime.”

-Madi S.  

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Vine’s Influence on Socially “Connectedness”

It goes without saying that social media has influenced how connected we are socially to the outside world. Many of the strongest friendships I have made were online, and I think that is something younger millennials have pioneered since social media truly took off. When you view people sharing content you like, you tend to instantly gravitate towards them. Many times I have struck up conversations over Twitter about a vine someone posted or a meme they retweeted. Ultimately, this plays a role in how we understand people’s personalities better even before we have a conversation with them. 

This also made me realize how much people were going to miss Vine when it was announced it would be taken down. #RIPVine as a hashtag had brought people together to discuss the best vines they would miss after its decommission. I think people participating in this at the time collectively were reminiscing about the best vines that had been created because they knew new content would never be put forth after.

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“I think there’s a kind of readily accepted truth that humor is one of the ways you can decide if you will connect with someone else. Vine is a great, distilled litmus test for this. If people don’t find the ridiculous six second non sequitur vines that I love funny, it’s likely we won’t get along. On the other hand, when I see people share things that I find funny, I’m way more likely to feel comfortable trying to be their friend or simply interact with them, whether online or in real life.”

-Sarah S.

Socially, people are always talking about Vine or making references. It was and is so easy to join in and make another reference or finish the joke if you've seen the vine. I find myself laughing with people I may have never talked to over a stupid video. Honestly, it’s a strangely great feeling.”

-Abby H.

“It impacted my social connectedness because it allowed me to be exposed to people and senses of humor I never would have seen in real life. Humor changes at a local level, but I think Vine makes certain types of humor global. It really is interesting to think that someone on the other side of the country- or even world for that matter- could be laughing at the same Vine I am at the exact same time. I bet I share a lot of favorite vines* with people I will never encounter, and that is really weird but great.”

-Erin G.

*Some of Erin’s Favorite Vines - 

https://vine.co/v/igMO1pLHeO6

https://vine.co/v/MhK1JOZ3IqD

https://vine.co/v/e0E1KQDP7Ul

Vine made me and others relate to people with just a 6 second video. One thing I enjoyed about Vine a lot was the most recent ones about the 2016 election. There’s one vine** in particular where someone edited in a kid in Bernie’s place during the Democratic debate yelling about stuff and it was so funny. A person I followed on twitter shared it, and we actually became friends because of it. I messaged them saying how funny it was, and were actually really good friends now.”

-Madi S.

**The Vine Madi is referring to - https://vine.co/v/ieKUT9A5A6L

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Social Influence and Vine

Vine has been instrumental in the way I talk with others. My friends and I regularly quote Vines to each other, and our humor has been shaped by the way the videos are created. Easily quotable and very relatable, many of the jokes we make revolve around the slapstick humor that Vine has really popularized. From my findings, it is quite obvious my friends and I are not alone. Many people I interviewed felt the same way. It is obvious that this is not by chance, but rather that there is a larger impact on our generation due to this app.

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“I'm constantly talking about vines with other people. And it’s so easy to explain to others the vine you’re talking about just because of a simple word/or a simple sentence someone said. For example, peanut butter baby*. 99% of the time if that person has seen the vine, they'll know exactly what you're talking about.”

-Daniel C.

*”Peanut Butter Baby” Vine - https://vine.co/v/ej9uQMBKWEh

“For sure! People quote vines and jump from one to the other. I’ve asked people, “What’s your favorite vine?” before – and lots of people have an answer ready. They’re just as much a part of the cultural lexicon as TV shows or movies.”

-Erica R.

“Vine had a huge impact on my daily social interactions. I quote vines daily. Often times people don't even realize I'm quoting a vine because I have seen so many I can slip one into almost any conversation.”

-Hazen W.   

“People are always making references or laughing about old stuff on vine. I don't think some of the jokes will ever go away. It’s just so intertwined in the way we talk, you know? I wonder if some of our kids will grab on to our humor we got from Vine. I think inevitably I’ll probably show my kids some of my favorite vines**. They’re too rich.”

-Taryn R.   

Some of Taryn’s Favorite Vines -  

https://vine.co/v/eYz7hJhA9ij

https://vine.co/v/OU2El0egWIK

https://vine.co/v/iaxFb0EWznd

“My friends and I all still make Vine references. It's like an inside joke, except no one feels left out because everyone knows it. Unless you don’t watch Vine, which in that case, you’re lame.”

-Andrea B.  

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The Initial Shock of Vine Ending

I can honestly say most people were shocked to hear about Vine’s end. I know I was worried the app would entirely be obliterated from the internet. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. As a collective, many people shared the same sentiment with me.

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“ I was devastated when I heard vine was ending because it was something I would spend hours on and it made me feel more creative. It was an outlet for myself. If I wasn’t making vines, I was sharing them. It didn’t seem fair to me, ya know? But I guess I understand the business. If you aren’t making money, there isn’t any point in staying open.”

-Emily S.

“It sucked, dude. I was sad at first when I heard vine was ending because I was afraid all of the content that so many people created would be lost. I didn’t want to lose all my favorite vines*! Vine shaped me in a lot of ways. I didn’t want to lose that. But when I learned they would still all be accessible it made me feel better. Still, I really want it back - like really bad.”

Erica R.

*Some of Erica’s favorite vines - 

“There are 3 types of people at bars...” - https://vine.co/v/e6D21QEL5rq

https://vine.co/v/b2zrJjP5vAB

https://vine.co/v/ivIBQ66WB00

https://vine.co/v/iB9wMYT7Jig

“Yes. even though it was kind of losing its popularity, hearing it was being deleted really hit me. I really was shocked to think it would actually be ending. It was a cultural phenomenon! You don’t just do that!”

-Andrea B.

“I was crushed when I found out. You know that vine of the little girl with smeared makeup on her face looking like she had a long night of partying, but now it’s the next day and the party is over and you’re a complete mess**? That’s how I felt about Vine. You better believe I still feel that way, too.”

-Abby H.

**The Vine Abby described - https://vine.co/v/exwJ0iLpmxd

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Vine: A 6 Second “Memeing” Masterpiece

Ultimately, Vine became a trailblazing app for the resurgence of meme culture on the internet in the 2010s. From gifs to screen caps of these 6 second videos, Vine ultimately helped formulate and cultivate the very “reactionary” internet culture we have today. I, like many others, found myself constantly whispering under my breath “...me...” as I watched these extremely relatable looped videos unfold before me. A lot of times these videos get better the second or third time around.

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“Vine influenced meme culture on a whole other level. Memes relate to people and make people laugh, while vine actually put it into action and visuals. It was almost offensive sometimes how much I could would relate or how it would make me feel. I think being able to make it into a video form just made people that much more intrigued and caught their attention a lot more.”

-Emily S.

“I think it influenced internet culture not just through memes, but through bigger picture things like – I’ve been seeing around that the ‘OMG Shoes’ video is ten years old. That sh*t would never work now! It’s too long!! We’ve gotten a taste of really good content in no time at all, and I think that’ll dramatically change how we analyze content and rate quality. Apart from that, vines themselves are massive memes – from “on fleek”* to vines referencing other vines, it’s part of a complicated and interconnected structure that is difficult to unravel unless you witnessed it firsthand.”   

-Meredith W.

*The phrase “On Fleek”, which has been used in many songs by artists such as Nicki Minaj and Beyonce, as well as in other pop cultural references today, started on Vine. More specifically, there is a singular vine which consequently coined the term; and it is now forever solidified into the linguistics of our generation.

“On Fleek” Vine --- https://vine.co/v/MTFn7EPvtnd

“Vine influenced memes so much I think basically because everyone had a vine account and everyone watched the same videos. The funniest ones would get more revines and literally everyone would be laughing at and would understand the same jokes. It was a way people were able to connect, and honestly its the main reason I miss the app so much.”

-Taryn R.  

 "Do it for the Vine"** was one of the most popular phrases my senior year of high school, and a lot of people were doing really stupid sh*t to try and get a really funny vine. Plus, now some songs and phrases are linked in social memory to vine, and they always will be in our generation.”

-Sarah S.

** Several versions of this vine exist, but here is one of the more PG (and sweet) versions.

”Do it for the Vine” Vine --- https://vine.co/v/MuzPTKxzpYB 

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#RIPVine

From its creation in 2013, Vine quickly took off as one of the fastest growing social media sites. The innovative 6 second looped videos were an instant hit. As a platform, Vine had entertained, intrigued, and ultimately gave rise to a unique and creative outlet to everyday people. In fact, many of these everyday people had produced a new type of stardom: “Vine Famous”. As the name suggests, many found their fame through humorous and entertaining vines. It also opened them to offers for sponsors of brands, marketing, and (sometimes not so fortunately) producing music. Vine was revolutionary for its time. But, all good things must come to an end. 

Vine fell into financial distress in 2016, when Twitter had found the app to be more of a liability than a moneymaker. As a millennial, I can attest to the devastation of learning about its impending demise. #RIPVine was started along with hundreds of thousands of threads on twitter of people’s favorite Vines. People had begun to nostalgically recount their greatest moments and memories of the app. The sudden resurgence of the app had people wondering whether it would actually end. 

Nonetheless, on January 17th, 2017, Vine had met its end. The app was converted to a simple Vine camera which could be used on different social media sites, however, it truly hasn’t been the same since. Along with the end of the app came a loss of community. Many Vine Famous individuals still are well known in the public eye and in the short term have no indication of losing popularity. Many, including myself, still cling to the time when Vine was thriving. 

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I interviewed several young adults (aged 18-26) about the app. Most, if not all, are very interwoven into the Internet culture younger millennials and older generation “Z” kids have been shaped by. The interviews encompassed questions that were broad but could easily be expanded upon. My hope for the project is to debunk whether or not time truly plays a part in how view nostalgia. Rather, is a certain span of time of something being gone necessary for someone to be nostalgic, or are we able to be nostalgic as soon as something is gone? Millennials as a generation are known for wanting things here and now. I explore whether or not this plays a part in a possible explanation for “instantaneous nostalgia” of Vine.