Snapchat: Break The Cycle
For teenagers today, Snapchat is the #1 source of communication.
It’s where we text, call, share photos, and even track each other's locations. But is it truly beneficial? In my experience, it’s a trap that fosters comparison, exclusion, and anxiety. As a girl in high school, the world revolves around Snapchat. If I didn't have the app, I wouldn't go to any functions or hangouts; I wouldn't be a part of the school clubs, and frankly, I'd be out of the loop with no one caring enough to pull me back in. However, I don’t see this as a positive. By having one big hub of an app, bad things are bound to happen, and Snapchat is not often seen in a positive light. However, everyone stays on it. Because everyone must remain involved and in the loop. It’s a never-ending cycle no one can break. Think about it: any friendship blowup, the sadness of being excluded, rude comments, or cold shoulders, most of them we experience take place on Snapchat.
On top of that, Snapchat holds its own hidden language. Left on delivered? They must be annoyed with me. Left on open? They're pissed. Unadded, the location was turned off, taken off a private story: it continues. Is this how we, as humans, are supposed to be thinking? What positives does this bring?
In the summer of this past year, I became consumed by the app. Although I hadn't seen many of my friends all summer, seeing them together constantly on Snapmap and snapping pictures together, smiling and laughing, put me in a horrible mental state. Despite my efforts to call and reach out, I was being purposefully excluded, and my pleas to be involved went unnoticed. They enjoyed knowing I saw them together, enjoying each other's company, while I sat at home moping. I became consumed and hateful of my peers, losing the ability to love the world I was living in. My mindset turned negative, and I couldn’t turn it back around.
Meanwhile, those girls were never the ones for me anyway. I was left out because I needed to fit their mold of what they wanted me to be. I wasn't willing to change my morals to accommodate their needs, and because of that, I was cut off. Of course, I cannot blame Snapchat for all of my misfortunes; however, I can blame it on the mental state I was in during that time in my life. If I hadn't had the app or had the restraint to delete it, I would never have known who was with who and who was saying what. I would have remained happy, oblivious to what was happening around me. I would have figured out eventually what kinds of people my friends were and detached by my own free will rather than them making the decision for me.
Snapchat is an invasion of privacy. Nobody should always know where you are or who you're with. Streaks and constant notifications are implemented to keep consumers engaged, causing teens to become addicted to the cycle of responding to friends. FOMO strikes, causing concern for whether or not you're missing important social events. Chats are deleted. It's your word against theirs. The hidden language inside can lead to extreme miscommunication and create unnecessary tension. The disappearing nature of snaps can cause many to believe their images won't have consequences; however, nothing on Snapchat has ever truly been deleted, with loopholes like stickers and screenshots existing. Snapchat+, the premium paid version of the app, leads to an even worse invasion of privacy. See whose best friends list your own, and even notice when somebody ‘half-swipes’ a chat.
Can we all agree this is not normal?!
This is harmful, and every day, the creators of Snapchat exploit our youth.
So please, for your sanity, consider turning off your location, only snapping close friends with whom you actually want to communicate, and unadding individuals that harm you.
Break the cycle; it starts with you.
By Blythe, with love.
