If millennials are the “me” generation — complacent narcissists raised by TV, video games, and hardworking baby boomer parents with extra money to spend — then generation Z is surely the “meta-me” generation. Millennials are indeed, as a group, self-obsessed. We went through our teenage years and early adulthood with things like MySpace or Facebook, a means by which we could present ourselves to the world, to feel important about the minutia of our days, or to share photos that make our lives look like an endless series of parties, sunsets and blackout nights in bars.

While this is all very annoying, it existed for the most part in a way that our friends had to sit down behind their family computer — or laptop, if they were lucky — and search out their friends’ social media pages. When I first created a Facebook page, I didn’t even own a cell phone. The one that I finally bought was a flip phone that I used for texts, calls, and playing that snake game.

What the current young generation is experiencing is the perfect storm of smartphone technology, internet access, and the rise of the popularity of apps that let you instantly create and share relatively useless content with friends and followers. The latest of these apps to catch fire is Musical.ly, a lip-syncing, video sharing platform that was recently valued at $500 million. Some are wondering if it’s <a href="https://medium.com/cuepoint/is-musical-ly-the-next-snapchat-160190ff8bef#.y01lwcuzm" target="_blank">the next Snapchat</a>, and with customizable videos young users go crazy for, it’s hard to disagree. Where Musical.ly diverges from Snapchat is in user challenges. This makes it arguably a more interactive app, basically existing as a platform for users to send photos and short videos meant for a single viewing. While Musical.ly currently boasts more bells and whistles, Snapchat seems to suggest more staying power because of the everyday nature — and R rated underbelly — of users posts.

At this point in time, every app is the next app…until it’s not. Impressive user numbers and valuations don’t necessarily equal staying power. Previous “it” app Vine is losing users to Snapchat, while Dubsmash’s fifteen minutes of popularity are over thanks to Musical.ly. It’s a harsh world where technologies are constantly evolving and user loyalty is almost nonexistent. It’s true that any app could be the next Facebook — a social media platform that found its footing among college students and went on to be one of the most popular websites in the world — but it’s much more likely that any popular platform will turn into the next Vine, Dubsmash, or MySpace. The difference with Facebook is that it brought something previously unseen, and useful, into people’s lives. While Musical.ly may be offering up something slightly novel, it’s staying power is likely going to be as long lasting as the attention of the generation currently so enamoured by it.