Snapchat is an app that debuted in September 2011, and by 2022 it had over 500 million downloads. What made Snapchat so successful? Read what the app is, how it works and how the research explains why we use it.

Snapchatis the work of three young Stanford University alumni. The app was developed by Evan Spiegel (born 1990), Bobby Murphy (born 1988) and Reggie Brown, with whom the other two quarreled, but paid him $ 158 million for leaving the business. This amount is definitely not excessive, considering the fact that Facebook first wanted to buySnapchatfrom its originators for $ 3 billion, and then Google - for $ 4 billion. Both of these proposals were rejected. Read what the hype is about and what this Snapchat really is?

Snapchat: what is this app?

Snapchat is an application for mobile devices with iOS or Android. Its more and more recognizable logo is a white sprite on a yellow background - its presence on the icon is not accidental. Just like those supernatural beings, photos and videos added on Snapchat quickly disappear - but before that happens, photos that we can take after entering the application are sent either to a friend or placed in My Story. If we choose the first option, our friend will have access to the photo up to 10 seconds after receiving it on his phone. If, in turn, we put a photo (and often the entire sequence) in My Story, all our friends will be able to see it for 24 hours after adding it. Later it will disappear - the same applies to videos that we can also add on Snapchat. Another solution introduced for the users of the application are Memories, i.e. snaps (we call a snap a specific photo or movie), which we can save and, for example, reuse later. Thanks to the search engine, we also find saved snaps of other users. The Snapchat filters have also become famous, thanks to which we can put on rabbit ears, change into tongues with the dog or put our own photo in a frame made of hearts.

Snapchat's watchword is "Life is more fun when you live in the moment"

The photos we have added cannot be liked, shared or commented on - Snapchat is supposed to provide us with as much privacy (compared to other social media) and security on the web. On Snapchat, we will not upload videos previously shot and edited, or photos taken with a camera other than the one on the phone - it's all about recording a specific moment. We also have filters that can "make" (or rather diversify) our photos more attractive. Importantly, Snapchat also allows you to chat - our conversations are also not saved.

Who uses Snapchat?

As reported in early 2022 by Business Insider1 , Snapchat is used every day by over 158 million people who open the application 18 times a day, spending 25 to Thirty minutes. It's popular to say that if you don't have a Snapchat sprite icon on your phone, you're old. It's a lot of truth - most Snapchat users around the world are between 13 (and the minimum age limit for users) to 252 . In Poland, these data are similar - according to a study by SW Research conducted in 2016 at the request of the Think Kong3agency, as many as 30% of Polish Snapchat users are people from 13 to 17 years of age age, 18% - those who are 18-24 years old, 4% - are 25-34-year-olds, and only 2% are people over 35. Why is Snapchat so attractive to teenagers (already from the age of 13), and not so much to people in their 30s? Researchers indicate that it may be about the way of communicating - people born in the 1980s and earlier had statistically greater contact with the written word at the age of "teens" than today's teenagers. Snapchat, meanwhile, is mostly about images. In addition, for example, on Facebook we will find not only young people, but also those over 50 - their parents and grandparents invite the youngest to their friends, so they "switch" to a more "modern" - spontaneous, spontaneous - medium .

Why do we use Snapchat?

1. Snapchat allows you to add … nonsense

According to a study by scientists from the University of Washington and Seattle Pacific University4 , which was attended by Snapchat users over the age of 18 (82% of respondents aged 18- 24), they consider the possibility of adding "goofy" content to be the biggest advantage of this application. The temporary nature of Snapchat photos and videos and the accompanying awareness that our works will not be passed on to posterity means that application users are eager to include in their profiles"not serious" snaps. One of the girls interviewed said that thanks to Snapchat, there are more … cats in her life, because her friends send her a lot of pictures of them, which they would not do with other social media. They are prevented from doing so by the fear of judgment and possible hate, which is hard to come by on Snapchat.

2. Snapchat is fun

Snpachat its users equate to spontaneity, energy, living in the moment - capturing a specific moment that is happening here and now, and not recalling memories or adding carefully prepared content. Therefore, among the snaps, "funny things" dominate, followed by photos / videos showing the owner of a given account, and then also other people, content informing about what we are going to do in a moment, showing events, food, animals.

3. Application for showing small moments of everyday life

Snapchat has also become a field of interest for psychologists from the University of Michigan5 , who surveyed 154 app users. It turned out that the most important thing about Snapchat for them is the ability to show the smallest details of each day - hence the snaps of autumn leaves on the sidewalk on the way to school or views from someone's window. According to the respondents, this content is unique - we are unlikely to see such videos on Facebook or Twitter, although on Instagram, which has taken over some of Snapchat's functions, it is. Facebook is rather to commemorate larger events - weddings, the birth of a child, holidays, professional achievements or to share your views, share interesting, in our opinion, content from other websites.

Snapchat is very popular among young Muslim women, especially in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - they hide behind the abayas on a daily basis, and the application allows them to show themselves to the world for at least a few seconds.

4. Attracting attention

Snapchat is a social medium, so it attracts people who want to introduce themselves to others. More than, for example, Facebook focuses on the image, communication between users is also simplified - it is based primarily on emoticons. Thanks to Snapchat, we show our friends ( although the term "friend" is a big shortcut here - it can be any person we accept on the globe) where we go, what we do, and above all - what we look like. The LendEDU student platform even conducted a survey among young people, which shows that Snapchat, right after Instagram, is viathem considered the most narcissistic medium. For the users of the application, creating an image of themselves presented to their friends has become more important than what their untreated reality looks like.

5. Snapchat as a way to earn money

The content presented on snaps usually lasts a few seconds, so receiving it requires a lot of attention. No wonder then that not only private users, but also brands take advantage of Snapchat's capabilities. Larger and smaller companies show photos or videos from the backstage of a given session, they present the latest products. Snapchat has also become a source of income for the most popular people on the platform: they show themselves in the creation of a given designer, use specific cosmetics, drink a drink of a specific brand, participate in an event of a given manufacturer or eat specific sushi, pasta, desserts. Those who see it are more likely to reach for the presented item, feeling closer to their idol at the same time.

Pros and cons of using Snapchat

Snapchat remains under the watchful eye of scientists also due to the dangers and positive reactions it causes. It turns out, however, that the researchers disagree on this point. University of Michigan6found the app to make users happier in their survey of 154 students - it is simpler to read than other social media platforms and consists mostly of "cheerful" content so it evokes positive emotions. It allows you to constantly follow what is going on with your friends, but also puts emphasis on the little joys of everyday life.

Stock of the company that created Snapchat - Snap Inc. - are available on the US stock exchange.

The employees of the British foundation Royal Society for Public He alth7came to completely different conclusions - their study included 1,500 people aged 14 to 24. Snapchat users have found that when using the app, they sometimes feel harassed by their peers, intimidated and rejected, which can lead to depression. After Instagram, the application was at the forefront of the platforms most harmful to mental he alth and well-being. As one researcher noted, it may be because both of them focus on the image.

So let's get to know the advantages and disadvantages of using this application:

Snapchat - advantages:

  • added content is removed from the "network" almost immediately (or after 24 hours);
  • possibility to add photos and videos on various topics;
  • less possibility than other social mediacommenting, evaluating the added content, and thus less negative impact on the user of the application, less wave of the so-called hejtu;
  • possibility of being in constant contact with friends;
  • Ease of use of the application.

Snapchat - disadvantages:

  • Snapchat is primarily communication by means of an image, poor in words;
  • Snapchat will accept any content and quality of a photo or video taken;
  • little possibility of interaction between the snap author and its recipient;
  • not very diverse group of recipients - mainly very young people;
  • threat of cyberbullying - although snaps are disappearing, some users are taking pictures of them with a different camera and trying to use them against the author - according to the above-mentioned study of scientists from the University of Washington, 47.2% of Snapchat users take screenshots, and 52.8 % met with someone taking a screen of the content they added.
Worth knowing

Sexting on Snapchat

Sexting, which is the posting of content - photos or videos - with sexually suggestive messages, is considered a serious Snapchat threat. It is often said that Snapchat is for sending nude photos to each other. Research conducted at the University of Washington confirms the occurrence of such practices, but they are definitely not the main reason for using the application for the majority of its users. Only 1.6% of them use Snapchat primarily for this purpose, and 14.2% admitted that they used the app to upload their nude photos in the past. Even more, 23.6% of those who perform snaps say that they engage in "playful sexting", which means that they post sexual or pseudo-sexual content for jokes.

Sources:

1. Access to information at: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-people-use-snapchat-user-numbers-2017-2?IR=T

2. Access to information at: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-primer-on-snapchat-and-its-demographics-2014-6?IR=T

3. Access to information on the website: http://thinkkong.pl/snapchat-w-polsce-kto-i-jak-z-niego-kieta/

4. Access to the study at: http://homes.cs.washington.edu/~yoshi/papers/snapchat-FC2014.pdf

5. Access to the study at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1084349?journalCode=rics20

6. Access to information about the study at: http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/23223-snap-decisions-more-happiness-gained-by-using-snapchat-than-facebook

7. Access to the study at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1084349?journalCode=rics20

8. Access to information onwebsite: http://www.bbc.com/news/he alth-39955295

Category:

Psychology