Hey HerCampus Hotties! Have you ever found yourself reminiscing about simpler times? You know, the times when you were a child and everything was carefree. When we were younger, social media was at its peak with platforms like Vine, Musical.ly, Triller, and Dubsmash. These apps shaped how we now interact with one another, dance, and create jokes. They also shaped some of the funniest content creators we know today. Let’s dive into these platforms.
Vine
Vine set the tone for how to joke online, even though the videos were only six seconds long. Creators like Dope Island, DeStorm Power, Jerry Purpdrank, and Mighty Duck made memorable content that still makes us laugh. Their jokes, like “Ouuu he stealing,” are still referenced today on platforms like TikTok. Going viral on Vine could lead to appearances on shows like Ellen or AwesomenessTv. I remember trying to recreate these vines with friends and family to also go viral. Vine was the beginning of today’s social media platforms, and its creators paved the way for the new generation of creators.
Musical.ly
Musical.ly was one of the most popular platforms of its time. The app allowed users to create viral videos by lip-syncing to songs with nice transitions. It also had a leaderboard that showcased the top creators, including Baby Ariel, Arii, and Loren Gray. These creators became so popular that they started offering tutorials on creating Musical.ly videos and are known to be the best creators on Musical.ly. The app attracted different celebrities, such as Selena Gomez doing duets with users. It was a time when everyone felt free to express themselves without fear of judgment. Although it has since transformed into TikTok, Musical.ly will always be remembered as a special moment in time.
Triller
Triller was another app during the musical.ly era that had its own style. Although it wasn’t as popular as the others, it was still a hit platform that kids loved. While on the app, you could create videos that were like mini music videos, and most people used it to showcase their music. You could participate in dance challenges and add multiple fonts to your videos to make them look better. Triller was not just about going viral, but also about showing off your creativity. It was the app where you could do anything that wasn’t based on a trend. Even though everyone slowly left the app, it was still a cool platform that gave us an outlet to be creative.
Dubsmash
Dubsmash was my personal favorite. If you were on Dubsmash, you knew that the original Atlanta dub smashers were everything. ATL Bre, Chythegreatest, Jontavion, Brandon, Glo Twins, Banjii, and Dreadhead owned the app. They created new challenges and set the standard for Dubsmash videos. This was the app that set the tone for dance challenges. In 2016, everyone was doing dances like the “hit them folks,” “nae-nae,” “jerk,” and more. Without the original dancers, there would be no Dubsmash, and they made it even more popular. For me, this was the app that made me fall in love with dancing and the idea of moving to Atlanta. I wanted to be where all the dancers were because I was one myself trying to go viral. Even after the original dancers stopped, the newer ones like Chris and Debo, The Wicker Twins, Eisha, Bracefacelaii, D1 Nayah, and more kept it going. This is one of the best dance apps of all time that can never be recreated. Even though the app is gone now, everyone still misses Dubsmash and believes that it should make a comeback.
Each generation has its own defining platforms, and everyone tends to miss the carefree times of their youth. Unfortunately, the newer generation will not get to experience what we had. Even though many of these platforms are no longer in use, they have left a lasting impact on our generation. People are still creating content on newer platforms like TikTok that references the older videos we used to make with captions such as “you had to be there”. Fortunately, we still have platforms like YouTube where we can revisit videos that we used to love from the older apps. These platforms have shaped us into the people we are today and will never be forgotten.
