TikTok vs Vine: Debate rages over which is better with classic throwbacks

June 2023 · 2 minute read

People on Twitter are sharing their old favorites from the now-defunct video app Vine in an effort to prove it was better than TikTok—but not everyone is in agreement.

Over the past couple of years, TikTok has become a central hub of viral content on the internet. The ByteDance-owned video platform is home to a whole variety of trends, challenges, Sounds, and more, and is often the source of content that goes viral across various social media platforms.

Especially over the past year, many have been comparing TikTok to the now-defunct short-form video app Vine. Founded in 2012, the app allowed users to post 6-second looped videos, many of which became iconic memes that can now be found in various YouTube compilations.

The app was shut down in 2016, but many users still miss the platform and the content people produced on it.

On September 11, Vine started trending on Twitter, after a meme comparing the two platforms went viral. A subsequent quote tweet read: “I don’t know how to say this but Vine was not as funny as you remember,” which picked up over 60,000 likes and caused a huge amount of debate.

I don’t know how to say this but vine was not as funny as you remember https://t.co/93LKJJVT1h

— Kayla 💛 (@kobcritic_) September 9, 2021

Some went on to post compilations of some of their favorite videos from the platform, a few of which have started doing the rounds on TikTok.

i literally miss vine sm. 🥴 pic.twitter.com/dDWIxmGNSS

— ♡ (@lushlyyy) September 11, 2021

However, others posted some of the content they love on TikTok that Vine didn’t have.

“does tiktok have ____” ok but did vine have jabria 🥱 pic.twitter.com/wjzxCQRTsw

— gav ミ☆ (@rulespov) September 10, 2021

People were divided about Vine’s six-second limit, which is significantly smaller than TikTok’s current 3-minute limit.

Some claimed the shorter video length meant “you had to give it your all for a joke to land,” but others argue TikTok is more “useful” because of the less restrictive time limit.

There might be more memorable vines but in general tiktok is a lot funnier than vine was and just generally more useful since you don’t just have 6 seconds

— Kayla 💛 (@kobcritic_) September 9, 2021

Clearly, people have strong opinions about which platform is funnier and better overall, but with opinion split firmly down the middle, this debate could be raging on for some time.

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