The selfie: well known by many, augmented by Instagram. Now, Instagram has the capacity to post 15-second videos. This feature came out shortly after the competing app, Vine, was released.
Vine, an app that has exploded in recent months, is owned by Twitter. It became the most-downloaded free app in the App Store in April 2013 after debuting in January 2013. Though primarily used on iPhones, a similar version was introduced to Android devices in June.
The app caps videos at about seven seconds and allows users a quick alternative way to upload short content. When sites like Vimeo and YouTube already allow users to upload short videos— although there is no seven second maximum limit—Vine’s quick rise in popularity brings to mind the question of why it is so widely liked.
Senior Monica Yip says, “I think it got popular so quickly because it made uploading videos so much faster than sites like YouTube and Vimeo. People started using the snippet feature to cleverly make short films that told funny and unique stories. Also, [the videos] are short clips that make it easier to watch a lot in a short amount of time.”
Senior Shannon Chen agrees, saying, “It was cool how people made seven second videos. My attention span is so short nowadays. Vine can seriously keep me entertained for so long. It’s actually really bad how addicted I was during [the] summer.”
Many people post videos from moments in their day to share with friends and family. Yip says, “[One of my videos] is of my friends and me locking our friend in a storage closet during camp…[It] was just a funny memory record my friends and I could look back on.”
The entertainment factor is an important part of Vine’s success. Much of the app’s popularity is credited to its humorous content. However, some students notice a trend of racial and other potentially offensive humor in popular or famous videos.
For example, senior Ria Patel says, “[There’s] one [Vine video] where the guy in it freaks out and says, ‘This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life! It’s watermelon inside a watermelon!’ There are cut up watermelon [pieces] in a watermelon bowl.” The man’s out-of-control, silly demeanor has made the video extremely popular.
The subject of the video is black and it appears that he may even be mocking the stereotype that black people love watermelon. However, the comment section of the video suggests that the video perpetuates the stereotype.
Sophomore Olivia Di Santo says, “A lot of [the humor] is racism and stupidity.”
Sophomore Aileen Calter says, “I don’t really mind [that type of humor] because I’m not really sensitive to that.”
Senior Troy Young asserts, “Racism, sexism, and something involving someone doing stupid things and hurting themselves—that’s what makes up the most popular videos on Vine, and I still think it’s funny because it’s staged. It’s not real.”
“I’ve never been offended by a video on Vine so far,” adds Young.
However, sophomore Mary Fitzgerald disagrees, saying, “[People] always make jokes of it, but it’s not a joke. They make it seem like it’s not a big deal, but it’s still not okay.”
It seems many are not concerned about the app’s social implications.
Oftentimes people are less sensitive to racial humor when the race being stereotyped or made fun of is being portrayed by someone of the targeted race. Di Santo says, “Chinese people make videos about Chinese people. They consider it okay if they make the video. But other Chinese people might be offended. Other nationalities find it hilarious.”
Matt Schrage, a sixteen-year-old from San Francisco, wrote on his eponymous blog, “I have noticed that a disproportionate number of Vines focus on racial stereotypes. Several Vines create comic situations around interactions with homeless people (at their expense). Even more show crude, mean-spirited pranks… Frankly, the things we find funny are appalling.”
Only time will reveal if Vine stays popular or fades away like other social media fads. Is Vine going to continue to grow as Facebook has, or will it take the route of the once popular Myspace and change its purpose? Myspace is now often used by musicians to find other musicians and promote independent projects; its purpose has changed since its earliest days. Vine may become increasingly dark with its humor or it may become a bigger platform for artistic short-story films.
Chen says, “Vine will stay relevant until people can’t come up with anymore things to post. Then, [with] nothing really interesting to watch, people [will] lose interest.”
