You turn around and flash, the camera clicks, the light goes off, and the damage is done. You ask to see the picture, in hopes of salvaging the situation, but alas it has to develop first. In a world of modern technology, teenagers are fast to jump on board the train of ever-changing social media trends. Dan and Ben Silvertown would soon find this out. A trip to Vietnam in 2019 would alter the course of social media as we know it. Borrowing a point-and-shoot camera (digital camera) from a friend, they were able to take photos while remaining in the moment, staying connected with one another, and unwinding from the pressures of mainstream social media.
Upon returning to the United States, they drew inspiration from their trip and decided to create an app that modeled the experience they had shared together. Social media is known to have a direct correlation to anxiety, as stated by many reputable sources including the National Institute of Health and Harvard Graduate School of Education. Their idea was based on that: create a less stressful version of social media, an app that would allow you to remain in the moment while still connecting with friends. Lapse was born.
With a concept in mind, they needed a way to actualize their idea. Delayed photos, close friends, invite only. Those three concepts were how they were going to set Lapse apart from the rest.
Delayed Photos: When you take a photo on Lapse, it does not immediately get published, instead the photos are stored in the “dark room” where it takes anywhere from one to three hours for them to develop. This feature was designed to prevent people from touching up or altering their photos. They simply take the picture and when it is done developing they have the option to either share it, delete it, or archive it.
Close Friends: Lapse was designed with the motto of “for Friends not Followers™.” Unlike Instagram or TikTok you do not follow people or have followers, instead you are mutually friends with others. This design is to help alleviate the stressful nature of social media. You are posting for your friends, so your pictures and videos do not have to be perfect. Instead of worrying about how you look, you can spend more time having fun.
Invite Only: When Lapse was first released you had the option to pre-register, which around 150,000 people did. If you missed the initial wave, you would have to be invited to join. Once you download the app, you are required to send out between five and eight invites to other people. While some have viewed this as frustrating or as a pyramid scheme, it has worked out to be a successful marketing trend for Lapse, with popularity rising rapidly. Lapse has not yet released the number of users they have, but San Marcos students have definitely caught on to the trend.
“I use Lapse between three and four times a day for posting, and I go on there randomly around five times a day,” said sophomore Aurora Ivanova. “I like that you get to share your life and what you do, but it’s less of a commitment than an instagram post. It doesn’t have to be super pretty, you can just post whenever.”
However, not all are persuaded that Lapse is the next big thing.
Senior Sofia Prober said, “I think everyone is going to download it and forget about it a month later, because a lot of new social media apps get really popular and it doesn’t last.”
Lapse was launched in June of this year, and in hopes of increasing popularity, it has added the ability to share posts with other social media platforms. It also has the ability to take instants, which are polaroid-like photos you can send directly to another person, as well as the ability to add to your journal which gives others a snapshot into your life. It is a combination of Instagram, Snapchat and BeReal.
Whether Lapse is here to stay or not, one thing is for certain; it has definitely caught the attention of teenagers today.
