I am admittedly not active widely across social media. I don’t have a Facebook, a Tumblr or an Instagram.
Twitter was my first love; It was like keeping an online diary, jotting out my daily thoughts but this time, instead of keeping them private, I was sending them out to the world. How reckless, I thought.
I was introduced to Snapchat next by my younger sister, she being much cooler than me, and at first, I didn’t get the point of the app at all. “So you take a picture and send it to a friend and it deletes automatically in a matter of seconds? That’s pointless!” But like most social media stories go, it didn’t take long for me to become addicted. Now, it is one of the most commonly used apps on my phone. Here’s why:
Snapchat offers a variety of features such as instant messaging, live video chat, painting and editing of photos, multiple filters, and more. There is also a feature called a story which is like a status where you can post a photo or video of what you’re doing and it will remain up for all your contacts to see for 24 hours (unless you choose to delete it before then). There are also Snapstories that will show up on your feed of cities from all over the world and of important events such as The Running of the Bulls in Spain or major sporting events. Snapchat also includes news outlets such as The Daily Mail, National Geographic, and Cosmopolitan, so that you can keep up on current events or what’s trending.
Here are the cons:
Don’t go around sending out nudes or there’s a chance they could leak! Yikes! Some people feel safer with Snapchat because the photos delete by themselves in a matter of seconds, but Snapchat has still reported cases of nude photos leaking. Another thing I should let you in on is that your contacts can see when you either view or screenshot their pictures or Snapstory. So for instance, if you’re following your crush, and you think you’ll be stealthy and screenshot that SUPER adorable selfie he took of himself snuggling his pet cat or lounging shirtless by the pool, think again! He’ll be able to see that, so don’t do it unless you don’t mind him knowing about it as it has made for some pretty awkward situations for Snapchat users everywhere.
Snapchat is a great app for people of all ages, whether it be your grandparents or your tween sister. It definitely opened my mind to other forms of social media and sparked my curiosity for other hot new apps.
For more pros and cons, click here.
