Snapchat seems like the perfect social media app when you look at it, but there are too many people that are uneducated about the dangers it presents. I know too many people that use Snapchat as their primary source of communication. There is no reason to send a picture to someone when you are sitting five feet away from each other. It is very likely that they saw you take that picture in the first place.
Snapchat is used to snap or send photos to others and chat by sending messages as well as post stories. The app has become increasingly popular amongst the tweens and teens. Snapchat specifically targets these younger audiences with its colorful appearance and aggressive marketing tactics.
If you go out to a public place there is a very high chance that you will watch someone, probably a teenager, take a snap and send it to their friends. It might not even be one of their friends. A very common thing to do among teenagers is add everyone they know on the app and only send “face pics” to the ones that they like and “ceiling pics” to the ones they like less. It is also common to “leave people on delivery” or “leave people on open” when you don’t really like that person. This means to not respond to these people, and it is considered to be a rude and inconsiderate thing to do.
In order to gain friends on Snapchat you have to “add” people and they have to “add” you back. It’s a two way street, you can’t add friends without the act being reciprocated. There is a feature called “quick add” where people you know can show up, and people you don’t know can show up. This is a danger among younger people especially with people who fake an identity. You may add someone because they seem like a nice kid about your age, when in reality it’s a grown person trying to get certain information out of you. There are people that will lie about themselves just to get closer to you, so they can manipulate you into telling them exactly what they want.
Snapchat is also prone to being hacked. It has happened on multiple occasions when a friend of mine on Snapchat will “text” me asking for credit card information or just money in general.
I say all this while also being a Snapchat user. I love sending pictures and videos to my friends. It’s a great way to share all of the fun things I get to do with all of my friends. I am also very cautious about all of these dangers. I make sure to never “add” someone that I don’t know personally. I also don’t share things on my “public” story. I only ever use my private stories with my closest friends in an attempt to keep my information to myself.
There are many aspects to Snapchat that are good and many that are bad, but I can confidently say that this app will be around for a long time. This doesn’t go to say that you should or shouldn’t use Snapchat, only that you should be aware of the dangers it possesses.
