All of a sudden, people are using Snapchat again.
It’s crazy what one filter can do!
Snapchat recently unveiled filters that swap out traditionally male features for traditionally female features and vice versa. Soon after its release, the feature went viral, with people swapping their silly selfies all over social media.
It was a well-calculated move for Snapchat as the app has had a decline in users over the past couple of years. As Instagram Stories get more and more popular, it seems that people have had fewer reasons to dust off the Snapchat app and try out their filters. But with a novel feature like this new one, people were even re-downloading the app to see what they’d look like as a someone of the opposite sex.
While some loved the new filter, others have pointed out potentially problematic aspects of it. Read on to learn more about the range of reactions to Snapchat’s newest update.
Snapchat has lost popularity over the last couple of years.
Instagram Stories came onto the scene in late 2016 and it seemed to compete with Snapchat in many ways.Instagram boasts far more daily users than Snapchat.
Snapchat has a formidable 187 million daily users, but that number is less impressive when compared with Instagram’s 400 million daily users.Snapchat performs well with a younger age group.
Generation Y prefers Snapchat, while Millennials, Generation X, and Boomers are more likely to use Instagram.Snap’s stocks have fallen dramatically over the past two years.
The stock is down about 60 percent from its price on its first day of public trading.Investors had expected Snap to grow, much like Facebook and Twitter before it.
But a few factors made growth much slower than expected.One factor that led to Snap’s stagnation? The infamous redesign.
In early 2017, Snapchat introduced a very controversial redesign—one that was polarizing enough to encourage many users to delete the app for good.They’ve adjusted the design since then.
But it hasn’t been enough to prevent the decline in users.They tried to make video-recording glasses happen.
But for one reason or another, they just didn’t catch on.Despite their various missteps, they’re always innovating.
They’re clearly committed to product innovation and finding the next big thing in tech.And they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
After all, Snapchat seems to have inspired Facebook to create its wildly popular Instagram Stories.Snap is still working out how to become profitable.
As Michael Pachter told Yahoo! Finance, “I think Snap management kind of shows up every day, and asks, ‘How do we make this [app] more fun, whereas as Facebook asks, ‘How do we make more money?’"
But at least now they’ve got an influx of new users.
People are dusting off their Snapchat apps to try out their new filters.Ever wondered what you’d look like as a dude (or vice versa)?
Snapchat’s new filter uses face recognition technology to switch up your features.The results are often pretty funny.
https://t.co/whmEg8VMin— Scott Stein (@Scott Stein)1557779507.0
And people are using it in the most hilarious ways.
Serving High School Musical realness.Even English cricket players are getting in on the fun.
The lads have been having fun with the new Snapchat filter! 😂 1. _______________ 2. _______________ 3. ___________… https://t.co/iiz0vHjd9x— England Cricket (@England Cricket)1557764101.0
Everybody’s doing it.
omg this snapchat filter 😂 https://t.co/CWn3uX98Hq— Derek♡ (@Derek♡)1557797990.0
People are up to no good with this filter.
Last night I got drunk and woke up to a fake tinder I made using the girl filter https://t.co/VatIxEy8FK— Dylan Nash🌴 (@Dylan Nash🌴)1557514856.0
People are also trying the filter out on famous people.
the perfect woman doesnt exis- https://t.co/totDztykhF— Seinfeld Current Day (@Seinfeld Current Day)1557599775.0
People are discovering new celebrity doppelgängers.
I redownloaded Snapchat to discover I look like Anne Hathaway as a woman. https://t.co/PLv7vUT4Xy— Mark Valdez (@Mark Valdez)1557594156.0
Or cartoon character doppelgängers.
That new Snapchat filter made me look like human shrek I’m calling the police https://t.co/EsKoLtfk7K— Chel (@Chel)1557558374.0
Family resemblance becomes even more apparent.
So I put the snapchat guy filter on and now i’m my brother https://t.co/aESxdF1upR— Haley McCluskey (@Haley McCluskey)1557544181.0
Even Miley Cyrus got in on the fun.
Umm why did Snapchat turn me into @joejonas? It’s our brows? https://t.co/OlXgiRL5va— Miley Ray Cyrus (@Miley Ray Cyrus)1557680366.0
Men are even trying it out on Tinder.
That’s one way to get a new perspective on dating...But people have also expressed concerns about the filters.
oh so if queer people play around with gender, it's called "unnatural" and "gross," but if cishet people do it, it'… https://t.co/5osjdxDh59— gerricicle 🥶🧊 (@gerricicle 🥶🧊)1557690178.0
It could be seen as making light of a serious issue.
"Making transness look like it is something someone can take on and off .. is insensitive." A queer advocate breaks… https://t.co/NnwnB03Hhn— AJ+ (@AJ+)1557979260.0
On the other hand, it could help make experimenting with gender more acceptable.
These new Snapchat filters got y’all out here having fun with gender roles, joking about sex with your homeboys, an… https://t.co/MAXLPSQWHL— Cathy Odessa Clark-Kennedy (@Cathy Odessa Clark-Kennedy)1557609046.0
In any case, Snapchat seems to be going strong.
Snapchat. 🤣 https://t.co/RhnGvijtBN— Juras (@Juras)1557583614.0