Diffusion Theory

 

    Messaging over time has changed significantly from letter writing to telegrams, to email, and now text. However, there's one messaging program people overlook sometimes. That being Snapchat. Snapchat was created in 2011 by Bobby Murphy and Evan Speigle. The app was used to share photos with friends but had a special feature at the time. The photo you could send would be deleted in 10 seconds. As the app evolved over time it came with more and more features such as video sharing, filters and the inclusion of the bitmojis. Now in 2023 Snapchat is most likely on every college student's phones not just to share photos but to communicate with one another. I can speak for myself that texting is the most I really use Snapchat for. Not having to get phone numbers makes it convenient not to memorize phone numbers or emails. Besides the messaging, the app still utilizes it's intended purpose which is sharing pictures with friends.

    Diffusion theory comes into play with Snapchat in about 2017 or 2018 because that's mostly when preteens and teens had mobile smartphones and they were able to get apps like Snapchat to take to their friends on a daily basis. Age-wise, the early majority would be students who got it in 6th or 7th grade and the late majority would be students who got it in 11th or 12th grade of high school. Laggers would just be people who never got the app. Those people most likely view the app as something they don't need or won't utilize. (Visualcapitalist.com)

    I mostly chose to use the app due to the notifications. Snapchat alerts you when someone is typing and your phone vibrates twice to indicate someone typing and that someone sent a message. I also knew my older sisters had the app and they liked it to keep in touch with friends from school. A good way I look at it is that getting someone's phone number is someone you're gonna be in contact with a lot more and getting someone's Snapchat is temporary. Mostly for projects or short-term friendships, Snapchat is a good way to get to know people. Personally, my mom likes to "snap" me and sends a funny filter every day and it really makes me appreciate having technology like this. The positives of having Snapchat far outweigh the negatives for a person like me, being able to quickly text my friends a photo, or send them a video is extremely convenient for me, whereas someone like my mom who just has the app to make her kids smile.