Why I Just Deleted Snapchat
Snapchat launched back in September of 2011, but I only first started using it last November.
That's when Snapchat really started blowing up. Millions of people were using the self-destructing photo app more than 30 million times a day.
At the time, I was vehemently convinced that the app's sole purpose was for sexting.
But once I started using it more and more, I soon realized that most people were using it to send goofy, stupid images of themselves or their surroundings. I have most definitely received some sexts on Snapchat, but that was before random people couldn't find you on the app.
It's for that exact reason why I deleted the app last night. Unless it's something truly unique, I'm not interested.
I found myself accumulating a bunch of unopened snaps. When I powered through a bunch them last night, none of those 10-second snaps could hold my attention for more than two seconds.
Whether it was someone looking stupid on Halloween, or a documenting a drunken tirade, I always wondered the same thing, "Why did you just waste 10 seconds of my time? Ain't nobody got time for that snap."
My colleague Caroline Moss feels the same way.
"I used to like it," she instant messaged me this morning. "But like a lot of apps, it didn't necessarily make my life easier."
Those words really rang true for me. That's when I realized the basis of my distaste for Snapchat. It doesn't add anything to my life.
But Business Insider Chief Correspondent Nicholas Carlson begs to differ. He's convinced that I'm just snapping with the wrong people.
"Don't break up with Snapchat," Carlson said. "Break up with your friends."
Meh. Luckily for Snapchat, not everyone agrees with me.
As of September, Snapchat users were sending 350 million messages per day, up from 200 million in June. Today, about 9% of all American cellphone owners use the app, according to The Pew Research Center.
Just late last month, talks of Snapchat raising another huge round at a $3.5 billion valuation surfaced. That news came just a few months after closing a $60 million Series B round at a $800 million valuation.
Snapchat, whether I want it to or not, is probably here to stay.