My initial confusion came from 1) not immediately understanding how the UI worked, 2) not being that interested in learning because few of my social network were one it. Once I invested a few minutes in understanding it out I loved it. I think the same would be true for many other people who "don't get it".
It's concerning that those who don't get it then act confused about why anyone else would like it. It seems like out of 2 possible responses, the ideal should be b)
a) I don't understand it or see the appeal, then why do other people like it?
b) I don't like it or see the appeal, but others do. Cool.
I completely understand the appeal of snapchat; it's basically LSD in social network form... The intimacy of shared human experience, the infinite nowness, the mindfuck UI, the altered values, the sense of sacred space, etc.
But much like acid, I feel like I wouldn't be able to engage with it everyday without weird things happening to my brain. I totally support people who use it, just personally I'm content with mostly experiencing it vicariously through other people.
Completely agree; interesting remark. I was recently traveling with someone that spent probably a good 25% of her time on Snapchat. It was kinda (read: thoroughly) offputting
Except most people's natural reaction when they don't understand other people's value systems is not empathy - it's criticism.
It happens on a much lesser level with food, music, movies, etc - the reaction from a non-fan to a 15 year-old girl's declaration that she loves One Direction is not "ok I see why someone could like this music and why this tribal affiliation is both socially useful to a teenager" but rather
Snapchat is the technology version of One Direction for a lot of adults. But also remember many adults couldn't understand why teenage girls went crazy for The Beatles in 1964 either.
For social networks in particular, the "I don't get it, here comes the criticism" reaction is a good thing. If a new social network / app is going to grow a devoted, core group of user evangelists, there needs to be a clear delineation between the in-group and out-group to help them adopt the network as part of their personal identity.
