What if an app had a setting where you needed a password to access the pictures you take? But why would you need to hide appropriate pictures? Password protection would help to hide pictures that you don’t want everyone to see. Snapchat has this feature. This makes Snapchat a great app for sexting. Salvador Rodriguez, a staff reporter at Inc. says, “It’s clear that Snapchat made this tool with sexting specifically in mind.” He also said, “Clearly, sexting was key to Snapchat’s growth in those days.”

Is Snapchat really all about the sexting? The founders say it’s not, but how can we know?

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a mobile app that is used to send videos and pictures with each other. Before you send the picture you are able to chose how long you want the other person to see it, it can be 1 to 10 seconds. Even though it is only sent for up to 10 seconds people think the picture is gone forever but they are wrong. On snapchat users have the ability to reply snaps along with screenshot snaps . Snapchat is a way to see what your friends are doing all day long. When someone wants to share what they are doing with all their friends they can upload a picture or video to their story that everyone will see. People also have snap scores, a snapscore shows how many Snapchats you have sent and received. Along with snapscores there are snapstreaks. You receive a snap streak with a fellow snapchatter when you both reply to one another at least once a day. The fire emoji will appear by their name along with the number days you have had a snapstreak with that individual.  Also you can have bestfriends on snap and next to their name appears the smiley face emoji.

Who uses Snapchat?

I took a vote at my school and over 90% of people have a Snapchat account. The app is mainly used by teens, but people of all ages use Snapchat.

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For example my 67 year old grandma is starting to use Snapchat more then she uses Facebook, also my 6 year old cousin uses Snapchat on a daily basis.

About how many Snapchats are teens sending a day?

• 38.4 % of teens said 0-50 per day
• 20.5 % of teens said  51-150 per day
• 16.6 % of teens said 151-300 per day
• 9.7 % of teens said 301-500 per day
• 14.9 % of teens said 501 + per day

Why do some parents not allow Snapchat?

When Snapchat was first made it was developed for sexting, so that you could send a revealing picture and it would be “gone” is less than 10 seconds. Since the picture or video you send to someone will disappear in seconds some people can still Snapchat to send inappropriate pictures or videos of themselves to others.

I conducted a survey of some of the kids at my school and 45% said that they have received an inappropriate picture through Snapchat and 20% even admitted to sending a picture of themselves. The numbers don’t lie, this is a problem that has grown throughout the years. A lot of parents will not allow their kids to have this app because of this. Also about 55% admitted that they would not show their parents the Snapchats they send on a daily basis. Similarly this survey revealed that over 75% of people know someone that has sent or received an inappropriate picture over Snapchat.

Although the app may mainly be used for funny pictures or selfies it can still be used in the wrong ways giving parents a valid reason not to let their kids download this app.

What are some other problems with Snapchat?

Revenge Porn

Revenge porn is when you are in a relationship with someone and you send them a picture you don’t want other people to see. Then they threaten to make the photos public by showing or posting the picture. Once you send a picture you don’t want everyone to see, it can haunt you for the rest of your life. Many teens face this challenge and do not realize the consequences that could come from sending inappropriate pictures. It can cause multiple lasting effects in mental, physical, and social health.

Racism

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People have been racist for centuries and are more likely to say things over social media that they wouldn’t usually say in person. Snapchat makes it even easier for people to be racist because they assume that the picture will disappear in less than 10 seconds. At the University of North Dakota a few white girls posted a snap story of themselves with black face paint. They captioned it “Black Lives Matter.” They claimed they were not directing it towards anyone just trying to be funny. Black students took offense to this picture but no punishment was put into place against these girls. Even though it seemed innocent this picture affected many student both black and white in a negative way. These girls thought the picture would do no harm and disappear after 10 seconds but little did they know all snapchats are saved for government purposes.

Everyone uses snapchat for different reasons. If you are true to yourself and your moral you will be responsible when using this app.

Featured Image by: Pexels