For years, people have been falling in love through dating apps. Apps like Tinder and Hinge turned love into a swipe-based game, where you could easily match with someone online. But recently, Gen Z and millennials seem to be rejecting dating apps and turning to a different app: Snapchat.
When you think of Snapchat, you don’t typically think of it as a dating app. While your Snapchat profile reveals things like your birthday, astrology sign and snap score, that’s typically all the information it limits you to. Even Instagram profiles give you more information than Snapchat. The app is simply used for messaging and is built around disappearing videos and photos. Yet, college and high school students are forming romantic relationships through it.
Unfortunately, as women, we no longer live in a “rom-com” world where a man will approach you and ask you for your number. Connections are rarely made in person anymore, which is why we have resorted to apps like Snapchat. If a man is bold enough to ask you for a form of contact, he isn’t asking for your number; he is asking for your Snap. If you have a man’s number, that likely means your relationship has been taken to the next level.
But, what makes Snapchat particularly suited for romance?
First, there is the element of daily interaction. Snapchat uses the element of the snap streak to encourage its users to interact with the app every day. It makes snapping people a habit. It also fosters deeper connections. Rather than just sending words, you are sending a picture or video of yourself, creating a level of trust between the two people because you aren’t necessarily “hiding behind a screen.”
Snapchat provides an authentic view of who you are, making it easier to connect. Unlike platforms built around highlights and aesthetics, Snapchat is not based on perfection. Dating apps are typically still a highlight reel where you post your most flattering angles and showcase all the good parts of your life. But the reality is, people are more attracted to the uncurated versions of people.
While your Snapchat bio doesn’t tell people about your interests and hobbies, this can actually be beneficial. This forces the two people to engage in conversation and get to know one another. There is no pre-written summary for you to skim in five seconds and decide if that person is worth your time. It brings back that small element of mystery that is slowly disappearing from the modern dating world.
However, we still can’t fully declare Snapchat as a dating app. Unlike your traditional dating apps, Snapchat lacks clear romantic intent. On dating apps, everyone is there in the pursuit of meeting someone they hope to start a relationship with. But on Snapchat, not everyone is using the app with that intent. This can be difficult because it may create confusion.
While Snapchat may not have fully replaced dating apps, it does reflect a modern shift in romance. It seems that in a world where many connections are built over a screen, people are gravitating toward platforms that still feel natural. Snapchat may not advertise as a place to find love, but for many, that is what it has become.