You might know Snapchat as the "vanishing messages" app — used by young people for mysterious purposes.
Despite its reputation, Snapchat is quietly rising as a leading social media platform — and most of its growth is happening outside Western markets.
This reflects a geopolitical schism affecting online and physical worlds.
While Snapchat, WeChat, and TikTok grow in the global south, Facebook and Instagram dominate the West.
Why it matters
In his 2022 State of the Union speech, US President Biden announced the start of a "battle between democracy and autocracy".
The "democrats" can be roughly defined as the Western G7 nations, in opposition to the "autocratic" BRICS and global south.
Social media apps are central to the new era of great power competition — and each bloc views the other's platforms as weapons of surveillance and mind-control.
The global digital divergence foreshadows clashes between geopolitical blocs that could shape the world for decades to come.
Watch this space as it unfolds.
Via Sherwood News / Snap.Inc
