Is it weird that I feel nostalgic for the early days of the internet? Not the "Facebook is so cool" era - I mean the real stuff. Dial-up modems. Crashing your family computer with LimeWire. Logging on to MSN Messenger, seeing your crush online, then logging off and back on again just so they might notice you.
Before social media turned into algorithms and brand deals, we had Messenger. Not "instant messages" in the modern sense - I'm talking about full-blown digital relationships built entirely on pixelated winks, nudges, and playing Checkers while pretending to do homework. For some of us, it was MSN. For others, it was AIM, ICQ, or Yahoo Messenger. But it all felt like the same magical place - a corner of the internet just for us and our weird little inside jokes.
We didn't need feed refreshes. We had custom status messages and webcam filters that turned you into a dog with bug eyes. The games were simple, the emoticons were chaotic, and everything took ten minutes to load - but somehow, it still felt futuristic.
So here's a little time capsule. Some screenshots from a better (or at least laggier) time. Pass the nostalgia. And send me your screenname if you're still online.
