Snapchat is the New Reality TV
Did you guys see the Easter episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians this weekend? No, not the one that aired on E! The one on Snapchat.
All the Kardashians are now on Snapchat, sharing their lives in real time via Stories. Kanye in a bunny suit dancing with North. Kim’s Easter egg baskets for all the kids. Khloe cursing out Kourtney with precision. Kendall showing Lamar how Snapchat filters work.
Seeing events from each family member’s point of view is fascinating, and it’s only right that the content is being shared in real time. It’s always been weird that reality shows typically air several months after events have occurred — after gossip websites have covered them at length and the characters have lived them out publicly. The real-time nature of the Internet shines a spotlight on this glaring issue. In today’s world, each episode of KUWTK feels (a) stale, because it’s old news and (b) inauthentic, because the production style mediates your experience of their lives. The contrived, staged aspects of reality TV, which we’d previously grown to accept, start to feel unnecessary when you’re sitting in bed on your phone on Snapchat watching real reality in real time.
The latest episodes of KUWTK reach an audience of roughly 2 million viewers. The ratings weren’t always this low, but TV isn’t as popular as it was years ago. You can’t blame the Kardashians — their celebrity has only grown over this time period.
Each Kardashian is almost certainly averaging more than 2 million viewers per day on Snapchat. And I was able to confirm with Snapchat that one particular Kardashian (can’t say who) generates way more than 2M viewers per Story.
This is a big deal. Snapchat is, in many ways, bigger than television.
It’s no surprise that the Kardashians have mastered the platform so quickly. Snapchat is the reality show about your life that you shoot and edit yourself. It’s a personality-driven platform, which is why people like DJ Khaled and YesJulz have so many followers; they’ve got really big personalities. It’s also why it’s so much fun to follow your friends and family — you get a very close look at not just what they’re up to but who they are.
No fake drama. No theme song. Just raw, real-time documentary. Whether you’re a regular person or a super-famous celebrity…Snapchat Stories are where you share your life.
Welcome to the new reality TV. We’re all stars.
Hit me on the Snap: https://go.snapchat.com/add/jasonwstein
