AOL Instant Messenger Is Being Shut Down, And It's Truly The End Of An Era

Growing up in the 90s meant that you spent all the hours you could online. Obviously our moms would kick us off a lot because we were tying up the phone lines, but when they weren't home we just had to get back on to AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).

AIM was basically what everyone did everyday. You would go to school, talk to your friends all day, bus home, and then log on to AIM to talk to your friends again. Sure, it had only been about 15 minutes since you were literally standing in front of them, but there was SO MUCH to say.

Everyone remembers what it was like to be on the internet back then, right? We were all just figuring it out.

We all typed LiKe ThIs even though it was a huge pain to read.

We would write cryptic messages and song lyrics as our "away messages"

And of course, you would talk to SmarterChild for ever.

After all of these years, it's sometimes hard to imagine the world without instant messengers like this, but now AOL has announced they are cancelling the service and people are having some strong feelings...

Honestly, how many people still use it? Obviously not a lot, but that doesn't mean we won't miss the option.

Comments on the news had mixed reactions. Some were more surprised that it wasn't already cancelled, saying things like, "That’s still a thing?" and "I didn't even know it was still around."

While others were a lot more nostalgic.

A rep for the company said "We’ve made the decision that we will be discontinuing AIM effective December 15, 2017. AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed."

So even though we won't be able to revisit one of our childhood favorites for very much longer, I guess we will always have the memories. RIP AIM!