In a generation of expanding social media and short attention spans, Snapchat has flourished. Originally released under the name “Picaboo,” the core concept of a quick and efficient photo sharing app has endured. However, the main feature that sets Snapchat apart from its earlier competitors was the promise of the photos being quickly deleted. With a rise of intentionally embarrassing and potentially inappropriate photos, this feature pushed Snapchat to the top of the app store charts. In recent years, Snapchat has become one of the most common ways of communicating among teenagers and young adults. As of October 2013, Snapchat was processing over 350 million “snaps” every day.

The genius behind Snapchat is mere simplicity. Even as Snapchat grew to a titanic size, they kept the same core concept with just a few new features. Stories, videos, and a texting were all added in recent years which expanded the utility of the app and take over a greater share of the social media market. In 2013, Facebook offered 3 billion dollars to acquire the app. Snapchat’s owners, Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, turned it down. As of 2015, the app is now valued at over 10 billion dollars. Companies can even put ads up on Snapchat for the small price of $750,000 per day. While this may seem high, it’s actually quite reasonable as Snapchat is now approaching 200 million users. To put this number in perspective, that’s about 62% of the United States’s population.

The app provides a very easy and casual way of sharing even the most random things that happen every day. Unlike Instagram, which takes on a much more intentional approach to photo sharing, Snapchat allows you to put less thought into each interaction, allowing for a quick share. Another reason for its popularity is the ability to easily share your photos with a large number of people. While texting requires you to either create a group chat or individually send each photo, Snapchat finds the sweet spot with being able to easily take a photo and make sure all of your friends see it. In the past year, I’ve noticed an even larger use of Snapchat over other social media methods, including texting. With our generation’s need for a fast and efficient form of communicating, Snapchat has risen to the top and shows no signs of slowing down.