Vine was Simply a Place for Fun
“Do it for the Vine”, a sentence uttered by many and myself alike before doing something inherently absurd to create entertaining content even in public places where you may otherwise be more reserved. This justification led people to break out of the normal rules of behavior and perform, record, and share outrageous snippets of video known as Vines.
Vine was a mobile app launched in January of 2013 that allowed its user to post six-second looping video clips. Although it was not the first social media platform designed around sharing video it did differ from the other big juggernaut that was YouTube. YouTube allows its users to share videos of almost any length whereas Vine limited its users to 6 seconds. The parameters of Vine caused users to create videos that were engaging and straight to the point and sometimes downright ridiculous. Vine began to take off with users sharing a wide range of content ranging from comedy to music. The app itself consisted of a feed where users could discover new Vines and follow different creators. Creating a new Vine consisted of pressing and holding the screen to record. The simplicity of compiling multiple clips recorded in a chronological order sparked creativity in users to create different scenes and practical camera illusions. Twitter, a social media platform that at the time allowed its users to post blurbs of texts no longer than 140 characters, purchased Vine in 2012 before the app’s launch. This purchase became important when four years after its release it was announced that the Vine app we had come to love would be going away. In January of 2017 Twitter assimilated Vine into their service rebranding it the Vine camera app and essentially killing the platform.
Vine was first introduced to me by a friend during my Junior year of high school in 2013. I immediately thought the idea was “stupid”, how could there be anything worth watching if the videos are only 6 seconds. Being a stubborn teenager I refused to download the app in the early months of Vine. However, just like botanical vines, Vine began to work its way into far-reaching areas. When I hung out with friends they would show me Vines they enjoyed, when I visited Facebook I would see Vine compilations reposted, when I went to school I would see kids recording Vines. There was no way around it, I was surrounded by Vine. My early skepticism was replaced by an eager adaptation to the platform. To this day the summer of 2013 resonates in my memory as the summer of Vine.
Although dead it is most certainly not forgotten, I still have friends who will quote Vines and share posts in group messages. Vine remains a significant blip in the timeline of Social Media because it helped illustrate the fact that people wanted short easy to consume visual content. Something we still see on platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok.
BUT IT IS NOT THE SAME!!!
Strip back the vanity, remove the filter, and undo the touch-ups and you land back on what Vine was about. Sharing expressions that felt personal and real. The simple mechanics for recording vines were not concerned about beautiful aesthetics or creating perfect images of ourselves. It was not polished and professional, it was personal and gritty. It had the same authenticity as a family video shot on your dad’s handheld camcorder. When you peel off the “beauty” we have painted onto the landscape of social media today you are left with honesty. Vine was simply a place for fun.
As a whole Vine helps illustrate the change of intent and function that social media serves in our society. Once a place for staying connected with friends and sharing honest expression it has turned into a place where we go to seek self-validation and embellish on our reality. We measure our worth by the number of likes we receive and present a facade of ourselves to the world. For many it has become a source of anxiety. When looking back at the history of Vine it is hard not to become nostalgic longing for a simpler time of social media.
