For the second year going on, Snapchat has shared its Friendship report that plans on how people are communicating and keeping their relationships going in the digital era.
And considering the events of 2020, things clearly look a bit different this time though.
“The findings showed how “social” is being inserted back into social media, with the majority of people using online channels to connect with friends more than ever, and even build new relationships when physical meets aren’t always possible.”
Snapchat first looked at how coronavirus has affected relationships and friendships and how people are managing to stay in touch.
“While COVID-19’s challenges have changed how we maintain our friendships, it has also made some of us more generous with our newfound time. When asked to think about the effects of COVID-19 on their friendships, 67% say their friendships have not been impacted. A third of people (33%) said they feel that COVID-19 has changed their relationships – but 47% of those respondents said they now feel closer to their friends than before.”
Snapchat users, particularly, feel even more communicated, more than half of Snapchatters showed that they are more likely to feel more connected to their friends currently than before coronavirus, comparing to those who do not use the application.
Also, the report looks at the influence of different life events on relationships giving new insights into changing stages.
It is exciting to think of the effects of these results relating to the present world situation, with losing a job to have an important impact on changing friendships and relationships.
Also, as stated, Snapchatters actually look more positive, in general, about keeping communicating. Snapchat has long displayed itself as the friends’ place, and the numbers here indicate that the application helps keeping users more in connection by more private and intimate connection.
Snapchat was never actually created as a normal social media platform in giving people a place to share their views with a bigger audience, yet rather than that, the intent of the application was a better increase in constant conversation.
“In normal life, most conversations are ephemeral. They aren’t recorded and certainly don’t last forever. And so, neither do Snaps. At Snapchat, everything we design is created to make interactions feel as authentic as possible, mirroring the ebb and flow of conversations we hold in real life.”
Based on this information, the approach has lead to closer connected channels, that see maximized activity and engagement in their Snapchat chats.
To be in line with these results, Snapchat has also created a new Friendship Time Capsule Lens, that makes users able to create a collection photo collage that plans their future by AR tools.
Snapchat users choose a year in the future, then send their photos to their friends, and then, the system estimates an exaggerated version of the older selves from the future on the screen.
There are some exciting insights here, and some good considerations about the way we connect, particularly in the context of 2020. Also, they may play a role in planning your outreach and marketing strategies by having a greater understanding of the main moments and intents of how people plan to connect, you may be in line with your move with these changes.
Read 2020 Snapchat’s Friendship Report here.
