Snapchat, the app that turns in-person relationships into actual ghosts
March 23, 2022
Social media and all the consequences of using it have become a growth industry. With the advances in technology and the apps that are available in our daily age, the rise of this specific app has come with it. The app is Snapchat, an app that looks like any other social network, but if we dig into it, it is more harmful than any other
When adolescence starts, we face countless problems, not only sudden and unpredictable physical changes, but also psychological ones that imply a crisis of identity, contrasting emotions and new social relationships. This part of our lives has always been difficult, with or without social media, but the rates of depression, anxiety and the decrease of social interaction are alarming. There is something that is for sure, the more they use social media, the more depressed they are.
There is no room for imperfections: in stories, in posts, the time it takes you to answer your snaps, this means everything to teens. With such demanding requirements, many teenagers fall into the deadly habit of reducing their interactions with people their age and hanging out with their friends. “I spend a lot of time on it, I use it a lot at school and a lot after school. On a regular day my screen time dedicated to Snapchat can be around 5 hours.” – Ian Jenkins.
This generation in the United States has grown up knowing what to expect and the toxicity it has around it, but being a foreigner can make this harder; it is another thing you are not used to and you have to adapt to. You get here, you see that is the main social media and you download it.
Everything looks normal; your friends add you and you add your friends back, you start snapping them. That is the main purpose of the app, opening pictures and sending pictures. The prettier you look, the better. The more you show your face, the more you like that person. Without knowing it, each kind of picture and the time it takes to that person to snap you back has a meaning.
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“It has repercussions on my mental health. Waiting for people to respond, if they take too much time instead of responding right away, definitely has a negative impact on me”- says Ian Jenkins
— Ian Jenkins
In a matter of time you realize there is a map inside the app, you can indeed see your friends location if they want you to. It might sound even good if you know that you can choose who you want to have your locations, but it is actually worse. It is something else that shows who you have preferences for. Having friends and knowing where they are all the time is not healthy, especially when having your friends’ location becomes a habit that should never exist. No one, not even your parents, need to know where you are 24 hours a day.
“If someone takes their location off for me, I take mine off for them.”- says Dalila Brown.
After snapping a few people for a while, 8 of them are in a list that Snapchat makes based on who snaps you the most to who snaps you the less. Its name is Best friends list, something else to determine who you like the most, as if you did not know who your best friends are.
If these facts were not concerning enough, there is something else to add. Next to each person there is at least one emoji that gives you more information about it. From if you have streaks with them or if they are in your best friends list, to know if they are in the best friends list of your best friend and if you have the same number 1. This means a larger lack of privacy, you will not be able to talk to someone and have them at the top of your list without other people knowing.
Social media makes us loose privacy. Teenagers know this, they know about its toxicity, but it is a double edged sword. If you do not use it enough, your relationships will never be as strong as society tells us they have to be; but if you use it too much it ends up consuming you. Many question if there is a viable solution for this issue.