It's just a more fun and personal way to "be online" than regular Instagram/Facebook where there's the expectation of producing content and performing for your

It's just a more fun and personal way to "be online" than regular Instagram/Facebook where there's the expectation of producing content and performing for your followers that you're living a good life, mixed with FOMO from others' posts. That's what group chats are being compared to. Bringing up IRC is a red herring since most people haven't heard of it and couldn't join if they wanted to.