There is no doubt that the manner in which young people are connecting and communicating has changed vastly over the last decade.

Instagram and snapchat are among the most popular social media apps for millennials. Both apps are very popular because they give young adults and teens a creative way to express themselves. Snapchat is an app where people can send quickly disappearing messages, photos, and videos, either to one’s story or directly to a person. It is one of the most popular ways to communicate among social media users today. Instead of texting, people send a picture or video of the activity they are performing. Also young adults and teens can post entertaining and interesting stories to their viewers. Since instagram’s new update, not only can people post artsy pictures, but now post stories as well. Ever since the app came up with this “new” idea, people on twitter are posting hashtags saying #teamsnapchat or #teaminstagram.

40% of instagram’s users are between the ages of 16-24, and 35% are between the age of 24-34. Each year, Instagram is becoming more popular because of their new updates. On the new instagram update, people can now post stories, use direct messaging, and are able to disable comments. Instagram is not only about artsy pictures and funny memes, the app is also used to express political views and create trending hashtags and share videos of world problems. During the peak moments of recent allegations of police brutality, instagram was brimming with videos of black people being mistreated by police with the hashtag “Black Lives Matter,” as social media became the vehicle through which this movement gained its traction. Instagram has many videos on Explore, from DIY to makeup tutorials. Most videos on Instagram Explore range from 20,000 to a million views. The app is also useful to advertise businesses like Victoria Secret and Wendy’s.

Snapchat is one of the top most popular social media apps. It is said to be valued to the amount 10 billion dollars. Each day, there are about 400 snapchats being shared. The app is very addictive to high school teens. Most teenagers are obsessed with keeping streaks and competing on who has the most. Snapchat also took the selfie game by storm with their creative and entertaining filters. The app has many kinds of filters such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even a personalized birthday filter. The most popular filter is the dog filter. This filter is used in most pictures posted on social media especially Instagram. Snapchat is also used among the celebrities. The Kardashian and Jenners even seem to be big fans of the app. Even the first lady has an account. When people travel abroad, snapchat has filters of the cities or areas they are in. Places like Paris, London, New York, and Philadelphia have their own personal snapchat filter. Even North Penn High School has their two very own Snapchat filters. The app also has a news and entertainment section. CNN, Daily Mail, and Buzzfeed has Snapchat stories of their own. On their stories they share important events that have occurred.

Although Instagram and Snapchat are popular in their own ways, it is worth asking – which app is better? When Instagram first launched in 2010, it automatically gained popularity and surpassed twitter. Most people are blaming the app for the shutdown of a formerly popular app, Vine. Vine was known for it 6 second videos. In 2013, Instagram took the spotlight from vine and added videos to their new update. Ever since then, Vine has never been the same. Instagram also attempted to steal snapchat’s fame by adding stories. On instagram, people do get more views on their stories, but they more are skeptical on what they post. Posting on Instagram stories is very risky. Many unknown strangers can view peoples’ story on instagram. On Snapchat, however, the user can decide who watches his or her posts. On Instgram users have less privacy on their post, so… even one’s Grandparents can see their account.

Also there are many dangers to the use of Instagram. When minors post a picture, sometimes they use a location tag showing exactly where their picture was taken. Although this gadget is useful for businesses, this could be dangerous as strangers can find teenagers exact location with the location tag.

Snapchat’s pictures, videos, and text automatically delete when being sent directly to a person, which can be very handy when a person wants to send something in private. Despite the automatic deletion, people can still screenshot private messages or videos. Like much modern social media technology, the app has ruined parties, social gatherings and concerts where people do not fully enjoy the moment of activities. Instead they post pictures and videos of what they are doing. And of course, this ability to broadcast one’s life is also why Snapchat is a widely used app. The app is used to boast about prized possession and achievements.

Although both apps are the most popular among the millennials, celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Nick Jonas, and Miley Cyrus are active users of Snapchat. Most people are team Snapchat because of privacy and control on who views their account. Instagram is too public and easier to release personal information. So which one is really “better” is probably determined by the purpose behind the user’s postings, but when it comes to privacy and permanence of social media usage, the most important creed to remember is “user beware.”