Photo-messaging app Snapchat provides a more rewarding, enjoyable experience than Facebook does, according to a new study by the University of Michigan.
Published in the journal ‘Information, Communication and Society’, the study looked at how 154 college students used their smartphones and how they felt at different times during the day over a two week time period. Researchers discovered next to hanging out in real life, the most “rewarding” communication happened through Snapchat. And, no, the results had nothing to do with sexting.
“On the surface, many people view Snapchat as the ‘sexting app,'” Joseph Bayer, the study’s lead author said in a statement. “But instead, we found that Snapchat is typically being used to communicate spontaneously with close friends in a new and often more enjoyable way.”
According to Tech Insider, the study was the first of its kind, asking questions like, “How pleasant or unpleasant was your most recent interaction?” and “How close are you to that person?” Communications on Snapchat were “associated with more positive emotions than Facebook and other social technologies,” according to the study.
The research also suggested that Snapchat users were less concerned about self-presentation, probably because the images disappear after a few seconds rather than being stored in an online archive like Facebook.
So, it all comes down to the authenticity of what’s shared on Snapchat
“Since Facebook has become a space for sharing crafted big moments such as babies, graduations, and birthdays, Snapchat seems to provide users with a distinct space for sharing the small moments,” Bayer explained. “It’s easy to get caught up in Facebook-induced FOMO, but Snaps of ‘mundane’ things like sitting in the car (parked, I hope) are more relatable, more likely to make you feel understood than make you feel alienated.”
While Snapchat made the respondents happy, Twitter, texting, emailing and voice calling were found to be more supportive.
