Throughout high school, before senior Joe Gobillot went to bed, he would scroll through Vine, watching a slew of videos to help him calm down after a busy school day.

Created in 2012, Vine grew to popularity by featuring six-second, looping videos that provided entertainment and quick fame for many of its 200 million users in 2015. Unfortunately for loyal Vine viewers like Gobillot, Twitter announced in October that the app would be discontinued on Jan. 17, although existing Vines will still be accessible.

The app’s closure came as a result of its inability to expand its user base and make money or compete with other platforms that have added new features.

“Vine was never as popular as Facebook or Instagram, but we came into high school with Vine and grew up with Vine, in its short-lived life,” senior Camille Dawson said. “The upperclassmen probably use it more.”

To appease its fans, Twitter is offering a pared-down version of the app, Vine Camera, where users can create the same short, looping videos they love and share on different social networking apps.

But its fans still mourn its loss, remembering the sense of community the app fostered and its potential for mindless fun.

Gobillot became known for making his own Vines.

Vine was “a break from reality,” Dawson said. “Joe Gobillot’s Vines were so funny. They were legendary. Everybody knew about them freshman year, and everybody watched them.

Vines are still saved on both the app and Youtube.

Vine’s brief acclaim reflected the popularity of simple apps that provide quick entertainment for teens.

“I think our generation is especially impatient if things take too long, so the speed of Vine is good. You watch it, and if it’s funny, you watch it again. If not, you scroll on,” Dawson said. 

Another source of Vine’s popularity was the wide range of subject matter shown in the videos, from comedy to music and dance. 

“You’ve got sports and all the highlights from the week, and you’ve got a bunch of funny videos that you can always find,” Gobillot said. 

Because Vine was one of the few platforms solely devoted to videos, its setup was accessible to aspiring videographers and people who simply wished to make funny videos. 

“Vine gives you a different way to show your creativity that Instagram doesn’t because you get six seconds to do it,” freshman Sadie McCabe said.

Amid all the political postings and angst, Vine remained a lighthearted community.

“With Facebook and Instagram, there are many areas for people to express their opinion, and with the election, that can be a little taxing to keep reading, but Vine is a break from all that,” Dawson said.