10.Skype:

Skype is a video chatting app which helps many families and friends stay in touch, even when not at home connected to Wifi. As a former military child, I know this is a way many military families stay in touch with those who have been deployed or sent on a TDY, which can happen pretty often. It is definitely not the same as seeing them in person, but it’s nice being able to see and talk to them almost as if it were in person. According to Statistic Brain, there are 74,000,000 Skype users and 11,500,000 iPhone Skype downloads per year.

9.Dubsmash:

Dubsmash allows you to find or upload sounds/songs and record yourself to share online. This was a very popular app earlier this year. Even celebrities would create Dubsmash videos and upload them to Instagram. It was funny watching videos friends created and fun being able to create them with friends.

8.VSCO Cam:

VSCO, a photo editing app, allows the user to edit videos, use filters, share pictures, and edit pictures with tools such as contrast, exposure, changing perspectives, and many more. The app comes with 10 free filters and allows you to buy more collections, with ten different filters per collection. VSCO Cam is a more professional app when comparing Instagram and the social media aspect of VSCO. Rather than posting pictures of you and your friends, you would post something more artsy. 

7.Netflix:

Netflix, established in 1997, has been around for many years. Those with a Netflix account are able to stream movies and television shows right on their smartphones, and pay less for Netflix than cable. It costs $7.99 per month for a Netflix account, however basic cable costs $15 to $20 each month. Netflix even started uploading original shows, such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. What is most convenient about having the Netflix app is you can be sitting anywhere at anytime just catching up on your shows. If there is only one T.V. in your household and it is being occupied by another family member, you can stream it through your phone. You also don’t need a T.V. in your room to watch a movie in bed.

6.Pandora:

Pandora is a music app made up of various music stations. By making an account, you will be able to save stations according to a specific artist, song, or genre. You can connect your smartphone to your car and listen to the Pandora stations you like on long road trips, or just a trip to the grocery store.

5.Twitter:

Twitter allows people to communicate with friends, family, and with the world. Many people, especially teens, use this app for gaining knowledge on what is going on in the world. Rather than sitting in front of a T.V. and watching the news, they read about it. Statistics from the analytics firm Twopcharts, there are 974 million Twitter accounts.

4.Vine:

Vine is an app where you are able to create six second video clips and share them. Many use this app primarily for entertainment, just like Youtube. Rather than share your own videos and use Vine for social media, it is very entertaining watching “famous viners’” funny videos. There is a Shorty Award for the Vine of the Year, an annual awards event, crowning the top Viners of the year to be Ian Padgham and Maris Jones.

3.Spotify:

Spotify is a music listening app, but unlike Pandora, Spotify allows you to create playlists, add songs to a library, go to artists’ albums, directly choose a song to listen to (not available on smartphones unless you buy premium), listen to different radio stations, and browse on “Recommended for You” and “New Releases” folders. Spotify is definitely the more popular option when compared to Pandora, with over 75 million active users.

2.Instagram:

Instagram, my personal favorite, is a social media app which has the purpose of sharing photographs and videos. Each profile is like a photo album. The app has also updated to being able to directly message, or DM, someone. Other features include photo editing and tagging friends and a location of where the picture was taken. Instagram, unlike Skype or Twitter, is restricted to smartphones only, and is not available on computers. 

1.Snapchat:

Snapchat is one of those apps that will constantly show up in the ten most downloaded apps. Snapchat is always updating. In the beginning, it started out as just a photo and video sharing app which only lasted for a few seconds. You could also draw over it in different colors and add text. Since then, they have added numerous filters, including “lenses,” instant messaging, and stories.  Not only is this app great for communicating with others, this app is also very entertaining. The Statistics Portal claims that by March of 2015, 47% of teens in between ages 15 and 17 downloaded this app.