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Comment by scruple | Hacker News Reader

I started with BBS in the early 90s (I was technically a pre-teen) and progressed to IRC shortly after... But, I _really_ remember when ICQ first showed up in my school and then even more so when AIM followed it. It's a bit silly to say today, I guess, but those were actually defining moments when I retrospect on the popular technology during that period of my life.

So, what has replaced instant messaging _in a meaningful way_ for teenagers? I hear Snapchat, but I don't think that it's actually filling the gap. I've heard folks say YikYak before, or whatever the fuck it was called, but that app was a pile and I'm pretty sure it died anyway over privacy violations.

What's out there that is directly connecting teens online today? Please tell me they're not all walled in to Facebook without any alternatives...

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Groupme. Largest group messaging app used, by far. There is also a large number using Discord, but that is mostly the more nerdy/gamer kids. No one wants to use facebook, but unfortunately most of the parents use facebook so they are forced to use it by association.

Snapchat, whatsapp, FB messenger, kik, viber, instagram, twitter ("slide in my DMs"). What I'm unsure about is anonymous online interaction. Is reddit and topic-specific forums all that are available? Maybe FB groups?

I'm familiar with all of these, I think.

Maybe I'm nostalgic, maybe I'm stuck viewing "my" technologies through rose-tinted goggles. Maybe I'm just naive. Maybe I'm just old. It may be that "the kids" are just in to a way of communication that doesn't "feel" right to me and that I'll never understand, and which leads itself to apps like Snapchat, WhatsApp, etc... being _genuinely_ superior to what I once experienced, even when I personally view them as being woefully inadequate compared to something as simple as AIM.

It strikes me as being some sort of Socratic expression that I don't want to delve in to. I just hope that technology is serving "kids" today as well as it served me in the past, and I guess that I have to accept that what _they_ accept is performing that job satisfactorily. Maybe when I have children and they are pre-teen / teen then I will be able to understand their needs again.

>Maybe when I have children and they are pre-teen / teen then I will be able to understand their needs again.

My eldest is about to turn 15, and he and his mates use IRC. He's a wee bit geeky, so "retro", "techie", and "obscure/mainstream unpopular" appeal greatly.

Kinda funny 'cause dad is mostly on Slack/Telegram/WhatsApp these days. To the extent I use IRC at all it is on the channel he set up for the fam.

> I just hope that technology is serving "kids" today as well as it served me in the past

Amen.

Im not a teen, but they might just text.

That's a good point.

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