An inner circle of people see hidden meanings in innocuous comments. Phrases like “What are those?” have begun to elicit laughs from these internet elite. Even those who do not quite understand the references hear the intonations in the way people say certain things and feel the pressure to laugh to fit in. They, too, want to join the group of Vine lovers who mourn the loss of a platform for hilarious content.

I cannot get through a school day without hearing references to Vines, and my friends often send me links to videos. I sometimes wish, however, that I did not see the same videos over and over and that Vine still existed for people to create new ones. These video experiences instead increase popularity for the Vines that currently exist and create a group of people with inside jokes to share, leading to communities of Vine fans. Unfortunately, since the actual platform of Vine no longer exists, new content now spans all internet spaces, and communities struggle to flourish.

Though Twitter shut down its video service Vine almost a year ago, the impact of its content has lived on. Vine experienced a problem when its content creators left the service in favor of other, more profitable, platforms like Twitter and YouTube. Twitter refused to specify to CNN why it decided to shut the service down, but the company had struggled financially and the news came after significant job cuts. Slowly, Vine fizzled out until the only thing it had going for itself was its videos, which people still loved. When it did shut down, people took to YouTube to create compilations of favorite Vines in memorial of the service they would miss.

Sophie Paxton, a Vine lover for approximately five years, explained that a Vine only needs to make her laugh for her to qualify it a “good Vine.” She noted that “Vine has helped bring [her] and [her] friends closer by sending each other hilarious videos, watching compilations together, and making references on the daily.”

I understand that Twitter did what they deemed necessary to maintain their company and balance their budget, but I wish it had not come at the expense of a community of playful and funny videos in a world that so desperately needs some light. The videos serve as a bonding experience for some, simple entertainment to others, and a six-second laugh for all.