By Asha Varma ‘20, Arts and Entertainment Editor

It’s safe to say that the 2010s was an era that can be defined by the rise of social media. This new wave of technological advancement has become a part of our daily lives, completely changing the way that we interact with each other by relying on technology. I’ve compiled a list of what I believe to be the top ten social media apps (in no particular order) of the last decade.

1. Instagram

This photo sharing app first launched in 2010 and was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Over the years, Instagram expanded its features with the addition of video sharing, direct messaging, and the introduction of Instagram Stories. Finally, in June of 2018, Instagram reached a milestone of an estimated one billion active monthly users, making it the second most downloaded free app of the year, and one of the most popular apps of all time. 

1. Snapchat

Snapchat easily comes in first place for its popularity among teenagers. The application’s success quickly grew after its launch in 2011. Created by Evan Spiegel, this app provided a new and unique take on photo and video sharing, allowing users to send each other images and video clips that disappear after ten seconds, called “snaps.” Another popular feature in the app is the Snapchat Story: users can post a photo or a video to their story, and it will remain visible on their profile for twenty-four hours. In 2017, Snapchat introduced their newest feature called Snap Maps, which lets users either share their location with contacts or set their profile in Ghost Mode to keep it hidden from others. Users can also view the location of their contacts on a world map. The app currently brings in about 200 million active users per day. 

1. Facebook

Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerbeg, this social media app far precedes competitors like Instagram. Originally created as a social media platform exclusively available for Harvard students to join and connect with each other online, the site expanded to other colleges such as Yale, Stanford, and Columbia, before finally allowing anyone in the world to make a Facebook account in 2006. The app has grown to be one of the most influential social media platforms in the world, with about 2.2 billion monthly users. 

1. Spotify

Though others may not agree, I consider Spotify to be a social media app because it allows users to stream music from their favorite artists, and compile songs into playlists. Users create a unique type of social media profile based on their taste in music, and have the option to edit collaborative playlists as well as follow the playlists of other users. Spotify launched in the U.S. in 2011, and now has 100 million paid subscriptions worldwide. 

1. Tinder

Launched in 2012, Tinder is a unique dating app that allows users to browse possible partners, swipe left on profiles they aren’t interested in, and swipe right on the profiles they are interested in. It has become the most popular dating app in the world, available in 40 languages and used in 190 countries. In 2018, Tinder had approximately 57 million users globally. 

1. Vine

Vine was a video hosting service that was launched in 2013. The purpose of the app was to share six second videos that play on a loop. This unique feature attracted users, and some of their videos made them famous. Vine stars like Jake Paul, Liza Koshy, Nash Grier, and Cameron Dallas have gone on to become social media influencers, creating content on YouTube channels and even pursuing acting careers. In 2016, the app’s developer, Twitter, announced they were shutting down Vine because it couldn’t compete with other rising video sharing platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. 

1. Twitter

Twitter is a social networking app that allows users to interact with each other through posting messages known as “tweets.” The site, launched in 2006, allows users to post tweets up to 280 characters. Similarly to other social media platforms, users can follow each other, like, or dislike a tweet, and can also re-post or re-tweet a post. Twitter has become a popular outlet for people to voice their opinions. Even public figures, such as the president of the United States, use Twitter to express reactions and thoughts to share them with the world. 

1. Pinterest

Pinterest, launched in 2010, quickly became the go-to app for people looking for inspiration. Users can create their own inspirations board by pinning images, GIFs, and videos. In 2019, the app reached 300 million active users, and has accumulated approximately 200 billion pins and four billion Pinterest boards. Whether it’s home decor, recipes, DIY projects, or fashion inspiration, this app has content that attracts all interests. 

1. TikTok 

Though it was launched in 2017, TikTok is easily the fastest growing app of 2019. Attracting mostly teen users, it has about 500 million active users around the world, and was the third most downloaded app of 2019. TikTok is a video sharing platform that is similar to Vine. Users can create videos by dancing and singing to prerecorded audio, the same way that one would sing to karaoke. Similar to Vine, popular content has dubbed some users “TikTok famous,” giving them millions of likes and followers. 

1. YouTube 

YouTube is the largest video sharing platform in the world. Created in 2005 by three former PayPal employees, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, YouTube has over two billion active users per month. In 2006, Google bought the site, and now users can log in to YouTube and upload videos through their Google accounts. YouTube has also become a popular platform for social media influencers like Emma Chamberlain to get paid promotions from companies to advertise their products in videos.