Is Snapchat becoming the new Facebook? That’s perhaps what the latest numbers from comScore indicate.
The Wall Street Journal examined the new data, which shows 14 percent of U.S. smartphone users over 35 years of age using the app — up from 2 percent three years ago. “Older millennials,” aged 25-to-34, are also using the app increasingly — now at 38 percent, up from 5 percent three years ago.
Many parents might still be learning how to post a status update or photo album on Facebook. But it’s clear that at least some older adults are starting to get the hang of Snapchat, which counts more than 100 million users.
So why are older adults gravitating toward Snapchat? The app’s ease of use to both consume and create content provides a nice way for parents to stay up-to-date with what their children are up to, according to some.
@WSJ in all seriousness, it is the best *opt-in* tool for keeping up with other people's kids ever invented.
— Boris Khentov (@awesomeboris) July 5, 2016
comScore noted that Snapchat is “breaking into the mainstream,” and added this:
Snapchat’s growth has likely been fueled by the introduction of several popular product features over the past few years, which amplified its already powerful network effects. Most notable among those new product features was the launch of “Stories”, which allows a user’s “snaps” (i.e. photos or videos) to be viewed in a chronological order by their friends an unlimited number of times in a 24-hour period. The Stories feed also includes coverage of various live events or places, in which some of the best snaps from users engaging with that showcased event are curated into one story available to all users. And more recently, Snapchat began regularly adding innovative ways to express oneself, such as “Lenses,” the camera’s creative filter options which make simple photos and videos more fun and entertaining.
Based on my interactions with 20-somethings, the fact that so many more parents and grandparents are using Facebook has driven them off the platform. Time will tell if the same effect happens to Snapchat, but for now, its growth and popularity — the app reaches 41 percent of all 18-to-34 year olds in the U.S. — doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
