Nikole Galea

New look to an old app

Let’s all give a warm welcome to Lapse! The disposable camera photo-booth, invite-only app. This new social media platform has been climbing the charts, but how long will that last? The reality might be that Lapse is just another Instagram, Snapchat, or BeReal with more of a secret vibe. 

*A little disclaimer this app isn’t new -at all this is just the rebranded version of the Lapse app that was launched originally in 2021.*

The main reason that the app has risen above all these other apps is because of its invite policy “gained popularity so quickly?”. After initially downloading the app and creating your profile, you are forced to invite 8 other people to use the app. This helps expose the app to different people.t  It is a great marketing tactic for them because it encourages others to see it and encourages the App Store to advertise it.

Get to know Lapse:

There are many differences between Lapse and other ordinary social media. To start you can only post photos that come straight from the app. To publish the photos you must take a photo on the ‘home page’ -which is similar to Snapchat–then wait for it to develop in the ‘darkroom’. After snapping your photo, it can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours to develop with the filter. When you release them from the darkroom you have 3 options: swipe left to archive in your memories, swipe right to post, or delete with the trashcan button.

All of your posted photos will be queued in your monthly album. You can also create albums for specific categories, such as friends, places, faces, etc. This app allows people to embrace your style. by allowing you to choose the emojis on your profile picture, your photo background (that you can use from your photos), and what song you want to be played when someone interacts with your account.

Additionally, the app puts a positive spin on certain features. For example, you don’t have followers you solely have friends, who leave emojis or comments on your pictures instead of strangers leaving likes and views. If you were to navigate to someone’s profile and you enjoyed their material, you have the option of sending them a ‘vibe’. Meaning, you vibed with their profile. To see others’ posts you have to go to a separate viewing location on the bottom right side of your screen. Here you can view your “friends’’’ new posts or updates to their profile, which can include song changes, new album additions, or their Lapse of the hour. 

Thus far it seems to be making waves in the Yorba Linda High School community, but however fresh and optimistic this app may appear, we all know how it’s going to end.  It’ll either be a a slow descent into nothing, or it’ll disappear completely.. All apps have had their go at being the next new thing, and more often than not they fail. BeReal, for example, had its 15 minutes of fame, and now Snapchat seems to be struggling to stay above water. Although it is exciting now, soon enough the app will -as Amaya Rodriguez (12) phrased it- “Get lost in the sauce, and be reduced to nothing more than a place to reminisce”.

The consistent popularity of Instagram, in contrast to the frequent short-lived nature of many social media apps, can be attributed to several psychological factors. Instagram’s well-established position benefits from the concept of network effects, wherein a larger user base attracts more users, making it challenging for new platforms to compete. Its consistent usage patterns have fostered a sense of comfort and familiarity among users, acting as a deterrent to transitioning to alternatives. Furthermore, Instagram’s advanced algorithmic personalization and stringent content quality standards. New social media platforms often encounter difficulty in overcoming user resistance to change, as well as confronting fierce competition, which both hinder their ability to gain traction.

On the contrary, the ever-evolving tech industry continuously ushers in new social media apps, each offering unique features or concepts in an attempt to disrupt the market, such as Lapse. However, these newcomers frequently encounter challenges in building a critical mass of users, maintaining high-quality content, and establishing viable business models. Instagram’s success is rooted in its capacity to adapt, evolve, and consistently enhance its features while emerging platforms must overcome numerous obstacles, including the displacement of established apps and the necessity of altering user behavior.