Solar panel installations per year

Between 2015 and 2022, Snapchat's daily active users and annual solar panel installations both grew substantially, correlating at 0.9659 across eight data points. The unified theory is that the same generation that communicates in disappearing photos is also the one putting panels on rooftops—both activities involve capturing something from the sun and hoping it was worth the investment. Snapchat captures attention; solar panels capture photons. Both depreciate faster than advertised. The correlation, at eight data points, is more anecdotal than statistical, but the anecdote is a pleasant one.

Snapchat grew from roughly 75 million daily active users in 2015 to over 375 million by 2022, driven by Stories, Discover, and international expansion. Solar panel installations grew from approximately 7.5 GW globally in 2015 to over 240 GW by 2022, driven by plummeting panel costs, government incentives, and climate policy commitments. Both are technology adoption curves from the same era, growing because their respective economics improved dramatically during the same window. Eight data points limits statistical significance.

Eight data points of two technologies in their adoption phase will produce a strong correlation regardless of domain. The disappearing photo and the solar cell share an era of exponential growth, which is sufficient to produce an r-value that looks more meaningful than it is.