We talked to a bunch of millennials about why they use Snapchat - here's what we found out

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri People take a photo following the Diane von Furstenberg Spring/Summer 2015 collection show during New York Fashion Week in the Manhattan borough of New York September 7, 2014. Earlier this week we put together a guide showing you how to use Sanpchat, which is a way more nuanced and complex app than it seems. But many readers commented that they wanted to know why people - millennials especially - use Snapchat at all.

In August, Snapchat was ranked the third most popular social app among millennials, trailing only Facebook and Instagram.

Snapchat's also in talks to raise another $500 million at a $16 to $19 billion valuation, which would bring Snapchat's total amount of money raised to more than $1 billion.

We talked to two dozen Snapchat users between the ages of 18 and 26 to learn a little more about their Snapchat habits. We've compiled some of their responses, which were surprisingly enlightening, below.

How did you find out about Snapchat?

• "A few of my friends were on it, but it wasn't until my younger, cooler brother started talking about it that I asked him to show me how to use it. I was drawn to the social engagement loop and ephemeral appeal of the network. I like a social network that treats content as disposable. Snapchat is in the headspace of our generation."
• "I think I read an article about it or a friend had told me about it. But the idea was instantly cool enough to make me want it."
• "A friend who lived on the floor of my dorm room downloaded it for everyone on our floor."
• "So I live in a house with five guys (I know) and one of them told me that I was in all their Snapchats and I was like, 'what? Pictures and videos of me are online and I don't know about it?' So major FOMO there. And then another one of my friends told me I needed to get Snapchat because he and his friends were all 'Snapchat gods.' So in a matter of kind of wondering what videos were being shared about me and also feeling like something cool was happening without me, I decided to join and it's been really fun-especially having it on my birthday.

Do a lot of your friends use Snapchat?

• "Yeah! I think I have around 100 friends on Snapchat."

• "My roommates and I use it literally every day."
• "Most if not all. I feel like it's odd if people don't."
• "Relatively - compared to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, I only have a few friends on Snapchat. That's probably because of the one-to-one nature of Snapchat and I try not to add people I don't plan on sending more personalized messages to."

How often do you use it?

• "I send snaps at least 5 times a day, but I have friends that use it more frequently and I get about 10 a day at least."
• "At least 20 snaps a week but when I go do really cool stuff, I have a sweet Snapchat Story. Some friends and I only communicate via Snaps, we snap everyday, just random updates and pictures."
• "About 2-5 times a day. I use it a lot on days when I cook dinner because I snap the entire thing like a cooking show."
• "I usually try to send out a snap or two a day to select friends, but at the same time, I also try to keep my story updated. I do check the app every day, but I definitely don't send out stuff every day."

Which features do you use (sending photos, sending videos, chatting, Snapcash)?

• "I send photos, videos, watch the Live stories, and use chat if someone sends me a photo or video that I want to follow up on. I'll never, in my life, use Snapcash. Snap has been hacked one too many times for me to see Snapcash as a viable option for peer-to-peer money exchange."
• "Definitely looking at other people's pictures and videos, and I'll sometimes chat respond to someone who sends a real interesting snap. I'd never use that "Snapcash" thing, though. Seems super sketch."
• "Majority of my snaps are photos and some are videos. I don't use the chatting because I'd rather just continue conversations through iMessaging. I do not and probably will NEVER trust Snapcash."
• "My favorite parts is the "My Story" because it logs your whole day and gives you the opportunity to re watch some of the good ones."
• "Photos and videos - when people chat me I think 'why?' and I don't see the purpose of Snapcash when Venmo is super easy (more of my friends are on Venmo)."

What purposes do you use Snapchat for?

• "I like sharing weird things I see when I'm out, videos of friends being funny, photos with text that I'll post as stories when I have news to share, or ugly selfies. When you get ugly selfies from someone, that's how you know you're good friends."
• "I only ever use it for funny pictures or to show what I'm doing to my friends, but I have people that use it as a replacement for texting. One of my friends will send a block of color as the picture and just write what they want to say on there."
• "Snapchat is the ultimate social media tool - users want to share their lives to anyone they choose to elicit possible feedback, but without the necessity of it being stored. Facebook allows you to upload images, but who wants to see 30 images and a few videos of a concert or you playing with your dog? And further, who wants to save or even hold on to that (including you)? Snapchat provides an easier answer to Facebook's 'What are you doing right now?' I use it personally to stay in touch with friends and show people what I'm doing, but I've used it for just about everything, except sexting."

Is Snapchat a sexting app?

• " I haven't actually heard of ANY of my friends use it for sexting purposes."
• "Saying Snapchat is for sexting is like saying Facebook is for poking. One small social interaction that can happen on a massive platform. People may have done it more when Snapchat first came out- and personally I don't even know one person who has sent some type of sexy snap, but now it is only a fraction of the interactions that happen."
• "I have admittedly sent one or two Snapchats that I wouldn't necessarily categorize as sexting but were 'suggestive' to my then-boyfriend (long term and long distance at the time) but that's far from my main reasoning for using the app."
• "I never thought to use it for sexting purposes and I would say that the majority of users probably don't use it for that. Any sort of personal photos I wouldn't send through there. Even if the photo goes away after ten seconds you are still able to screenshot it so it kind of defeats the purpose. So no, definitely don't use it for anything other than staying in touch with friends.

Do you see yourself using Snapchat as frequently as you use it now in the coming years?

• "[I see myself using it] even more because it's only going to get better. It's hard to make an idea this simple too complicated."
• "Sure, doesn't seem like there's much of a reason to cut back on it. It's just kind of integrated with my daily life at this point."
• "I have no idea how long Snapchat will be popular for. I definitely didn't foresee 3 years back when I first got it. I imagine it will be like Vine, where it was super popular for awhile then pretty much died off. And then some new app will come along and be all the rage."
• "If everyone keeps using it the way it's being used now, then yes. I honestly can't imagine NOT having it now. I have so much fun watching my friends and the crazy shit they do. Snapchat is a way of seeing the world through the eyes of other people that Facebook and Instagram just don't offer, and I have no idea why that is. My best friend is living on an island right now and I love her Snapchats because I get to see what she's seeing all the time."

Do you see a use for Snapchat for adults, beyond those in school?

• "No. Anyone over the age of 35 registered on Snapchat is probably also registered on Family WatchDog."
• "I use Snapchat with my mom, it's actually a lot of fun especially because she sucks at technology so her Snapchat selfies are hilarious. Mostly older teens, twenty somethings use it. I mean, a lot of people use it to show off their weekend plans and whatnot."
• " I wouldn't really say it's 'useful.' It's on the same lines as a game on your phone. It's fun but not necessary. And anyone can use it; it's just a matter of whether or not that's how they want to spend their time. I know my parents will never use Snapchat, but I also don't think my 20-year-old brother will ever use it because it's not his thing. But his friends also don't use it. So if his friends started to use it he would probably get it. I think your social circle has a lot to do with whether you use it or not."
• "It's quick visual communication. I can imagine helping my mom with her computer through Snapchat; for instance, taking pictures of what buttons to click instead of trying to describe it to her."
• "Only for people who are tech savvy enough to understand the tool but not take it seriously."

If you had to pay to use Snapchat, would you?

• "Depends how much, but if the app was under $3 I'd probably buy it, and it would depend if my friends bought it because if I have no one to snap then there's no point!"
• "Absolutely not! I think that's the beauty of a lot of 'social' apps for phones these days, because they're free. Paying for a service to send videos/chats/pictures to people just sounds ridiculous."
• "I'm a millennial. I will pay for nothing - just throw in more ads or something."
• "I really hope to never have to pay for Snapchat but I honestly might if everyone else was doing it and the price was reasonable."

Anything else you'd like to add?

• "Did I mention I like the Snap art?? That might be my favorite part. I also like just how real a Snap has to be. There's no chance to edit really. It's like a slice of life and I think that's really unique and interesting. It also feels personal knowing that it is meant to be watched only once and was sent specifically to you by your friends. Snapchat is the shit!" [note: here's some examples of Snapchat art]
• "I do think a lot of the users are guys who are looking for pictures from girls. When I first got it, I had the settings for who could send me snaps set to "everyone" and received requests from men looking for pictures. I quickly changed the settings, but I'm sure a lot of other girls receive the same requests."
• "Snapchat entered into a niche that's so forward because it's catered towards a generation even its creators didn't understand. It's not that the user interface is complicated, its that the user interface doesn't even exist. It makes assumptions about its users preemptively, and doesn't care if it's shutting out an entire generation."

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