I finally caved. A few weeks ago, I made a Snapchat.
I’ve had friends asking me to get a Snapchat for a while now. I refused, but they kept begging me, so finally I made a deal. I said I would make one when we all split ways and went off to college. And then I made one the summer before my senior year of high school anyway.
I still feel like an outsider in the world of Snapchat. I haven’t put anything on my Story, filters aren’t working on my out-of-date phone, and I have under 10 people to whom I actually send snaps. So, from an outsider’s perspective, here are the best and worst things about Snapchat.
The Best of Snapchat
Snapchat keeps you in touch with people in a way very different than other social media. I think what makes it so different is that it replicates an everyday interaction with the other person. It lets you be silly and send each other pictures at the same time as allowing for the typical social media status update with your story. The reason why I stopped being stubborn and got a Snapchat now was that I made friends whom I wouldn’t be seeing for a while and wanted to stay in touch with them. Snapchat is serving that purpose beautifully.
The Worst of Snapchat
I’m probably a little biased, but I tend to see a lot more of what isn’t good in Snapchat than what is good.
My main problem with it is that it is such a huge waste of time. That could probably be said about any type of social media, but I really dislike how Snapchat encourages you to put more time than necessary into it (Clearly, I’m one of those people who responds every four days or so).
Take streaks, for example. They are completely pointless. If my purpose is to stay in touch with friends, I can decide for myself how often I want to Snapchat them. I don’t need to feel obligated to send my snaps during a certain time period or be stressed out about maintaining my streak. People get so angry with you if you let your streak die, too. I know someone who was going away for a while, so she set up her Snapchat on her mom’s phone just so her mom could keep her streaks going. I think streaks actually take away from the whole Snapchat experience, but apparently I’m in the minority because they seem to be here to stay.
Love it or hate it, Snapchat has become a regular part of most teens lives. And I’ve finally joined that club. My friends can all do their victory dances now.
Here's a shoutout to my sister, who was so excited that she told all her friends to add me, when I wanted to avoid adding as many people as possible. I forgive you.
