by AudeSapere » Thu Jun 11, 2025 9:07 pm
Are we going to be using instant messengers in like ten years? The generational "we", not the humanity "we". I mean, we're really the first generation to see that kind of technology grow up with us. I can remember in like 6th grade when everybody had ICQ because it let you customize your names with stupid ASCII characters and everybody thought it was hot shit in a champagne glass before we all realized that it was giving our computers hell of viruses. So we all migrated to AOL IM or sometimes Yahoo or MSN, and AOL's function and look has become less cutesy and blocky and more sleek over time, it seems. Obviously it's always going to cater a lot to the younger, hipper crowd (jesus I'm only 23 listen to me) that has expendable time and money, but I also get the feeling that it'll evolve with us in some way because it's almost too convenient to give up entirely. Our means of instantly communicating have diversified as text messaging and twittering and whatever else you can do mobilely have exploded in popularity, but we also spend a metric fuckton of time on our computers and it doesn't seem like that'll change any time soon. Are we going to be putting up away messages like "takin the kids to soccer practice and visiting mom in the nursin home lol"? Are the idiots and assholes of our generation going to continue using awful internet slang until they keel over and die?
Random thoughts.