“Like my pic on Instagram!”
“Oh my gosh, did you see what she posted on her story?”
“Ugh, he has more followers than me.”
If you have ever been around a group of young people, you have heard these words uttered. Ever since the sudden rise of social networks in the 2000s, there has been a constant stream of new network sites, all trying to be the next Facebook. There have indeed been some successes, like Twitter and Tumblr, yet there have also been many social media sites that don’t live up to the modern standard or just can’t maintain popularity, like Pinterest and Google+, which are often times shunned because of their try-hard-ness and their distinct similarity to Facebook, respectively. There are two social networks that currently stand out above all of the other wannabes and try-hards: Instagram and Snapchat. It really shouldn’t be surprising why these two are at the top; Instagram has 8,000 likes every second, and there are approximately 600 million snapchats sent every day. Now, the obvious question is why are these two so much more popular than all others? What makes Instagram so unique is that it allows users to express their creative side with photos and videos.
On the other hand, Snapchat is more for fun, with users sending funny faces to their friends and just communicating with people without pressure.
Now, in a survey that I gave to teenagers and adults alike, I asked three questions:
- Which do you prefer: Snapchat or Instagram?
- What are some pros of your favorite?
- What are some cons of your favorite?
The results revealed that only 27% of the surveyed people answered Snapchat, and Instagram was proven superior, with an overwhelming 73% selection. Now, while this was very surprising to me and others, it apparently shouldn’t have been unexpected; there are only 30 million Snapchat users, as opposed to Instagram’s 100 million (This is actually very interesting because if you look back at the survey results, the ratio of those who chose snapchat to those who didn’t is 30 to 100, and the ratio of snapchat users to Instagram is 30 million to 100 million, which makes this my most accurate survey ever!). When asked what they liked and didn’t like about their chosen networks, the people said:
Pro of Instagram: “You know what’s up with your friends” Con: “You know what’s up with your friends – when they do something without you :(“
Pro of Instagram: “Easy to be sneaky”
Con of Instagram: “Too many food photos”
Pro of Snapchat: “YOU CAN DRAW”
Con of Snapchat: “Perverts can send you nudes (Stranger Danger)”
While the people have spoken and Instagram has been chosen as better than Snapchat, that doesn’t mean that Instagram is perfect. If you look closely, you can see that the pros and cons are equally dynamic. So for all you sunset-picture-taking, ugly-face-sending snapchatters, don’t think that you have been forgotten.
Words by TJ Kanaley
Images by Instagram.com , snapchatted.com , mashable.com
