I use snapchat a lot. Probably more than I should. It makes me feel more connected with my friends that I don't have direct contact with. Instead of trying to decode what my friends are saying with the help of emojis only, one can see each other's faces, expressions, and body language. Although it may be an advanced means of contact, there are still quite a few arguments against it.
Many would argue that snapchat contributes to people being addicted to technology and taking pictures of ourselves, which may not be so healthy. According to Business Insider, an American business, celebrity, and news website, there are 60 million people with snapchat installed on some type of electronic device (i.e., iPad, iPod, Smartphone, etc.) with 16.5 million people using snapchat daily. CEO Evan Spiegel says that there are 400 million snapchats being sent a day. That is more than 24 snapchats a day. Snapchat has gotten close to replacing texting for many people. The interesting thing about this, is that most of these texts are sent with selfies which has brought on an obsession with spending several minutes multiple times a day just to send one picture that will only be viewable for up to ten seconds. This is unhealthy because it has created a norm of obsessing over our looks and consequently, maybe actually reversing the goal of snapchat and disconnecting us from our friends and society and putting our focus of communication on ourselves.
Another argument against snapchat is that it is supporting drunkedness and promoting laziness. Snapchat has updated to a way to add friends which takes no effort. By taking a picture of (or even just hovering over) the snapchat logo, you can automatically add friends. Although this may be faster, it also influences people to get more intoxicated than they can handle and add people that they may not even know or remember later that they added because typing isn't necessary.
The "drunk" snapchat update may lead to unhealthy behavior, as well as the ten second rule. The ten second rule leads many to sending nude pictures to others because there snapchats will delete after ten seconds or less. Because there is no chance of the pictures getting leaked (even though that is not true), many people disrespect themselves much more than they would if texting was their only option of quick communication.
Now, even though there are many concerns about casually using snapchat, I believe snapchat could be used in the classroom to help parents feel connected with their children during the day. Snapchat has a feature called the "story" where you can add pictures that everyone can see for 24 hours, rather than just one person for a couple seconds. I think if parents signed some sort of permission slip and added their child's teacher on a private and professional snapchat, the story would be a great way for parents to observe what their children do during the day. This could be used so the parents can simply enjoy seeing their children, so they can praise their children for things that snapchat catches them doing well, or so they can talk to children about or discipline their children for behaviors that aren't acceptable in class.
This idea is a work in progress, but I believe that if I can work out some kinks, I could efficiently and effectively use this application in my classroom as a future teacher. I would love feedback on this idea, so if viewers would comment their views on this, it would be appreciated. Also, if you have arguments for or against snapchat, I would like to here those as well.
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