"What's old is new again": Instagram Notes compared to AIM Away Messages by netizens

Instagram’s latest notes feature has brought a major nostalgia for the millennials as it is being compared to AIM Away Messages by many. It’s giving Gen Z a glimpse of what messaging in the 2000s was like.

Instagram notes appear at the top of one’s Instagram DMs tab. Like stories, notes also have a lifespan of 24 hours, after which they disappear automatically. The feature lets one enter up to 60 characters. It can contain both text and emojis.

One can also change the note at any time within the 24-hour time limit. However, once shared, there’s no option to edit the content of the note. It can either be replaced with a new one or deleted.

Now these notes are bringing back a familiar feeling for many millennials who once used AIM Away Messages. One would only know about this if they were born before 1990. AIM or AOL Instant Messenger was among the first online platforms for messaging.

Before Facebook and Instagram’s reign, AIM provided the thrill of virtual texts. One could access it from web browsers on desktops, and later mobiles as well. The chatting spree that can now be seen in people caused by Instagram and Facebook, 10-15 years ago used to be AIM on the job.

People are talking about this unexpected resemblance between Instagram notes and AIM Away messages on Twitter. One wrote:

"What's old is new again."

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Instagram's new thought-sharing feature is now a time machine for millennials

AOL Instant Messenger was launched in May 1997. It gained popularity almost instantly among high school and college students. AOL’s "Away" message feature was used to let friends or contacts know about one’s online availability status or short messages about one’s location, or if someone was going to a party.

Sometimes one might need to take a short break between chats to maybe have dinner or use the washroom, so they’d notify their friends about it with an Away Message. Then after coming back online, they would just remove the note.

AOL was shut down in 2017 after being acquired by Verizon Communications.

(Image via AOL)

Millennials who missed using AIM Away Messages are now reliving those days through Instagram notes. However, those who have never used AOL or even heard of it, use the note feature to mostly share quotes, random questions, or thoughts. It’s almost similar to status bubbles, but with a shorter character limit than Instagram Stories.

Away Messages were brief notes that used to appear next to a person’s name or profile icon once they marked themselves ‘Away’. As such, many feel that Instagram Note is just a resurrected version of AIM Away messages.

Like Away messages bore a blank canvas to people for painting one’s calculated and organized thoughts and emotions as precisely as possible, and shared with those who mattered, Insta notes can also be shared with selected friends. For example, if one writes something on their Insta Note that’s only for their friends to decipher, they can choose to share it with those particular people.

There’s an option right below the text box where one can choose either to share their note with either ‘Followers you follow back’ or ‘Close Friends’.

People with experience with AIM Away messages are going on Twitter to talk about the uncanny similarity between these two features from two different apps separated by a decade.

Needless to say, this surprise throwback to the past is like a year-ending gift for many millennials who cherish their old habits from their teenage years. Getting to revisit those good old Away messages days is one of the many contributing factors to the hype surrounding Instagram Notes.