Internet cafes in Nigeria are quickly becoming a thing of the past

Back in the early 2000s, the only way Yinka Adegoke could send an email to family and friends back in the UK and US, was to stop by an Internet cafe.

"[Internet cafes] were an important place to go to get connected to the rest of the world," he says.

Adegoke, a Nigerian and Africa editor for Quartz, says having access to Internet at home or on your phone was almost unheard of in Nigeria. But that's changing.

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission, as of February, Nigeria had 83 million active phone lines with access to mobile internet on their phones. And that has led to a decline in the number of internet cafes in Nigeria.

Many Internet cafes have turned to different businesses all together.

"One place has been turned into some sort of viewing center for people to watch premiership soccer match," Adegoke says.

While Internet cafes had become gathering places, especially for the young, Adegoke says Nigerians won't miss them.

"Things are constantly shifting," he says. Businesses change and update all the time. Adegoke himself uses apps on his smartphone to connect with his family and friends inside Nigeria.

He says in Nigeria, like many other places in the world, "I didn't get your message" won't cut it any more.