This ’90s-esque social media site only works for three hours a day

The vibes astatine seven39 consciousness distinctly similar the net of the precocious ‘90s and aboriginal 2000s. | Image: The Verge

For the past fewer weeks, each time astatine 7:38 PM ET, I get an email titled “seven39 is unfastened again.” From 7:39PM, I person precisely 3 hours to cheque retired an experimental caller societal media tract earlier it wholly shuts down.

It’s not an bare threat, either. If you sojourn seven39.com extracurricular of that three-hour window, you’ll beryllium greeted by a reddish “currently closed” sign. You’ll besides get a little explainer of its mission: “Social media is amended erstwhile we’re each online together. No endless scrolling. No FOMO. Just 3 hours of amusive each evening.” 

To my bushed aged bones, that’s a compelling pitch. I’ve tried each the flavors of societal media poison since the downfall of Twitter. In 2025, each societal media has the aforesaid formula. The never-ending doomscroll keeps you connected the platform. The longer you scroll and the much you prosecute with clickbait and the main quality of the day, the much ads and affiliate links you tin beryllium fed. By bedtime, your attraction span is shot, you’ve been mildly entertained, and sometimes, you consciousness aggravated for nary existent reason.

With seven39, the scroll is finite. There are nary ads — conscionable a azygous chronological provender from users against a purple backdrop. It …

Read the afloat communicative astatine The Verge.