What makes Snapchat so popular?

[Joseph41]

I spend quite a lot of time thinking about the dynamics of social media.

Snapchat in particular has been on my mind recently. It was only launched in 2011, but in that relatively short time, has become exceedingly successful. Why is it so?

According to this, there are 178 million daily active users, and 3 billion Snaps sent per day on average. That's absolutely phenomenal. From the same site, 47% of U.S. teenagers consider Snapchat their most important social network (I assume the other 53% said ATAR Notes). Very interesting, indeed.

And yet, the premise is so simple. You send photos for a limited period of time. That's it.

I have Snapchat myself. I use it relatively often, but only with a very limited number of people. Why do I use it? I'm not really sure, but I think it's a fairly easy-to-use platform to just, y'know, connect. The content matter of my Snaps is often more facetious than, say, using Facebook - or even posting here. I guess this is a product of the idea that the Snaps are impermanent, even though, realistically, they're not.

What are your thoughts? Do you use Snapchat yourself?

[Calebark]

I like being able to share cute animals I find.

[Joseph41]

I like being able to share cute animals I find.

Why not do this on Facebook, or some other platform? Why Snapchat specifically?

[Calebark]

Why not do this on Facebook, or some other platform? Why Snapchat specifically?

It's easier to take a photo on Snapchat and send it to your fellow cute animal aficionados (aka everyone) than it is to take a photo then open Facebook and share it then. I also like not having no record of what I've been doing on Snapchat* (*that is easily accessed), as I don't like my Facebook wall getting cluttered for some reason.

I can also put dog filters on dogs, but I cannot do that using other forms of social media, sadly.

[Sine]

I use it but i don't really like it  . I guess the upside is being able to share stuff with your friends (not randoms/everyone e.g. facebook) without warranting a response/initiating in conversation.

I prefer instagram tho

[Coffee]

I use Snapchat and I like its ease of use.

Some things that stand out to me that differ from other social media:
1. I can choose who sees it. I can also send it to multiple people at once, and unlike Facebook, we don’t all need to be in the same group chat.
2. Snapchat isn’t picture perfect. I don’t need to worry about filters, or how my feed looks. It’s meant for quick, bad lighting, etc., kind of pictures.
3. It’s ease of use. Everything is in-app, unlike text messaging where the camera is usually separate from the text messaging app.

Honestly, I haven’t given this much thought, so here is a really quick, typed-out reply. It’s an interesting question though!

I guess the upside is being able to share stuff with your friends (not randoms/everyone e.g. facebook) without warranting a response/initiating in conversation.

Also, this. I like that I can send something quick without having to have a full-blown conversation.

[Yertle the Turtle]

From the same site, 47% of U.S. teenagers consider Snapchat their most important social network (I assume the other 53% said ATAR Notes). Very interesting, indeed.

ATARNotes, in the US? Since when?

Personally, I don't use Snapchat, but I know people who use it all the time, and I don't see it as a good thing, but on the other hand I am not generally in favour of any form of social media because I can see all the troubles it has caused with the people in my age bracket. There is a general inability to cope with social situations, that I think is partially due to the rise of social media engines. It can also cause problems with depression and celebrityism, since people can see that others are more successful on social media than they are, and celebrities are thrown even more into the spotlight than via other methods. They become a focus of the lives of young people, while I feel like there are many more useful role models out there...

I think that Snapchat is popular for a couple of reasons. It is easy to handle and requires only a small amount of attention span, which suits the 'shorter than a goldfish' attention span of this generation. Also I think it is just the 'new thing' that is a fad, made popular by a select few that we follow blindly. That's just my two cents worth.

[peterpiper]

Don't know if there are many ordinary hermetic/overly-sanctimonious people like me out there, but I'm kind of proud to say I don't use any social media (not to boast or anything  ). Looking back, I feel like the decision to cut myself off from the digital realm made a significant difference in my life. It gave me introspection which social media usage denied me for years.

In the times I do meet up with friends, it feels more special because you can appreciate and spend quality time with company more than you could, if you engage in social media frequently. For some it may not seem a lot, but I definitely felt a difference.

[spectroscopy]

i feel like snapchat just has a vibe certain vibe u know. the content is so different to any other platform even if its the exact same people with the exact same capabilities. to quote dj khaled's snapstory: ISSA VIBE.

its just used so differently. its just a super simple "whats going on with my friends? ok cool. let me post up this pic of this funny sign real quick." then u turn ur phone off and the whole process just took 20 seconds. a picture tells a thousand words so snapchat feels much more rich than facebook and very easy to use. its actually really hard to explain or articulate why its appealing. I guess it fills an important part of people my generation and youngers life. you can keep in touch with people you never see and still be pretty up to date on peoples lives and send them relevant pictures at the drop of a hat. I find it to be a good tether to keep people together who otherwise wouldn't talk or interact with each other for months or years at a time. I have friends on snapchat who i always view their stories and they look at mine and we havent talked or seen each other in ages but if something pops up in our life that reminds us of the person you can just send em a quick snap

[elysepopplewell]

I think it's the perfect place for unpolished oversharing. Instagram is far more calculated - Facebook is more family, networking, life updates. And snapchat is for me posting videos of myself eating avo and bacon on toast at midnight. I think it's a really nice relief from the otherwise quite scripted/controlled sharing on Instagram and Facebook.

[Calebark]

And snapchat is for me posting videos of myself eating avo and bacon on toast at midnight

How can you Snapchat a mortgage if you're doing this?!

[elysepopplewell]

How can you Snapchat a mortgage if you're doing this?!

It's difficult but I've been doing it for a while and I'm pretty good at it now!

[dancing phalanges]

People use snapchat to pretty much document what they do during their day. I have it but never use it and I'm glad I don't because people blow their 3G on it haha

I think it's the perfect place for unpolished oversharing. Instagram is far more calculated - Facebook is more family, networking, life updates. And snapchat is for me posting videos of myself eating avo and bacon on toast at midnight. I think it's a really nice relief from the otherwise quite scripted/controlled sharing on Instagram and Facebook.

Pretty much perfectly explained

Mod edit: Merged double post

[zofromuxo]

I think it's the perfect place for unpolished oversharing. Instagram is far more calculated - Facebook is more family, networking, life updates. And snapchat is for me posting videos of myself eating avo and bacon on toast at midnight. I think it's a really nice relief from the otherwise quite scripted/controlled sharing on Instagram and Facebook.

I'm going have to strongly disagree with you on that. All the things you post on the internet is controlled and selective in what you share. Its dishonest to think that Snapchat is somehow different to Instagram and Facebook from this element. I mean the fact I can set filters on Snapchat for photos and Instagram as well and that somehow I won't script or control that photo on Snapchat, but not on Instagram is dishonest.

[sudodds]

I'm going have to strongly disagree with you on that. All the things you post on the internet is controlled and selective in what you share. Its dishonest to think that Snapchat is somehow different to Instagram and Facebook from this element. I mean the fact I can set filters on Snapchat for photos and Instagram as well and that somehow I won't script or control that photo on Snapchat, but not on Instagram is dishonest.

I don't think elyse meant that snapchat isn't somehow still a contrived image, just that the image presented on snapchat is a lot more relaxed, and the lengths you go to maintain the image are relaxed as well. This is going to shift and change depending on who you talk to - I'm sure there are some people that use snapchat as an extension of instagram - but I definitely personally identify with elyse's point. I am a lot more carefree about what i post on snapchat than I am on instagram, because I know a) less people will see it, b) I'm closer to these people than my anon insta followers and c) it'll be gone in 24 hours. If I take a photo and I look bad i'll still post it on snap if it's funny or still demonstrates what I was trying to take a photo of, whereas if I'm trying to get an instagram I'll reshoot until I like the photo. Yes there are filters on snap, but I think its a bit of a stretch to claim they are the same as those on instagram. No one thinks I actually look like what I look like with the dog filter on, or even the "beautify" filters. Maybe they look cute, but they aren't perpetuating a false image, because we all know what those filters look like (and they look the same on everyone). Instagram however not only has more overlay filters to choose from, but you can micromanage the edit yourself as well, adjusting brightness, saturation, fade, etc. You can also upload a photo that has gone through another photo-editing app prior to instagram.

TL;DR, yes I agree that everything posted on the internet is controlled, however there are definitely nuances between the different platforms - i'd say that is one of the reasons that many people will have a form of all three, because they serve a different purpose