Everything You Wanted to Know About Snapchat But Were Afraid To Ask

Snapchat is a social networking platform where users share photo and video messages that disappear almost immediately after being viewed. It allows you to take a photo or video then add a caption or doodle on it, before selecting who you want to send it to.

Over 150 million people ⁽¹⁾ use the app every day. Regardless whether you have just joined the fad or are concerned over your child’s use of Snapchat, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! Here’s what you need to know about this popular social media app.

1. 1. Why does my child like Snapchat so much?

      Users can send time-limited photos and videos without having to worry whether these will remain online forever. With Snapchat, they can easily share a wide variety of things – from silly facial expressions, to pictures of their meals or even short vlogs (video logs).

      Another feature that attracts much interest is ‘My Story’. “Snaps” (videos and images) can be uploaded on ‘My Story’ to create a chronological narrative of their day. These short and snappy daily contents can be viewed for the next 24 hours before disappearing.

   2. Can images from Snapchats be saved by other users?

      Snapchat does not save received messages, but users can take screenshots. Snapchat attempts to counteract this by notifying the uploader that a screenshot has been captured – but tech-savvy children can find ways around this too. For example, users are able to take a picture of the screen with another camera, and save the photo permanently without the uploader knowing about it.

   3. What are the dangers of using Snapchat?

      With the false sense of security that anything posted on Snapchat will disappear after a short time, many youths may be emboldened to post inappropriate content. For example, there has been increasing concern about Snapchat being used for “sexting”, which is the act of taking naked or sexually suggestive pictures of oneself and sending it to others ⁽²⁾. Again, with the use of screenshots, pictures may end up being circulated on the internet or used for cyber bullying.

   4. Should I make my child delete the app?

      It is important for children and youths to know that it is possible for anything posted to the internet to remain there forever, regardless of whether it “disappears” or not. In the case of Snapchat, their terms specifically state that any photo or video posted to Snapchat officially belongs to the company, so they can redistribute and sell it if they choose to.

      Snapchat in itself is not bad. David Ryan Polgar, co-founder of the Digital Citizenship Summit, reminds:

      “For every story of social media misuse, there are countless others where teens utilise a platform to create art, get politically involved, or raise money for a friend’s illness. While it is crucial to focus on curbing misuse, it is also important to encourage all the times it goes wonderfully right.”

      Our advice for parents is to talk to your children about Snapchat, as well as its associated risks and benefits. Telling your children to delete it or banning the app is no longer a practical solution as they may simply move on to the next big social media platform.

   What’s important is to inculcate the basic principles of digital citizenship, privacy, security and safety, as children and youth need to know there are consequences to their online actions.