Snapchat Makes Chatting More Fun

Is the renowned Snapchat really that great? Snapchat is used by students in high schools and colleges all over the country, including Goddard High School. Snapchat is unique because photos and videos only last a brief amount of time before they are gone for good, making the app short-lived, but to save them, users can take a screenshot of the snap so it is in picture form. Although, it’s original use was for an inappropriate reason, it is now used by students everywhere for a mostly appropriate reason.

“I, personally, do not use Snapchat as a way to send inappropriate pictures. However, I have no doubt that people use it for that purpose,” said Hayleigh Cole, freshman.

Since Snapchat originally came out, it has been reinvented again and again. The first addition was a chat feature that gave access to texting someone, and then, the message would disappear after it was read. Shortly after, Snapchat stories were invented. Snapchat stories consist of sharing certain photos with all the added friends, and then, the pictures or videos disappear after 24 hours. However, not all the updates have to do with the latest disappearing acts. Snap streaks have become both a competition and a challenge to many people. A snap streak is a record of how many consecutive a snap, or picture, has been sent to a certain person.

“I have never really felt the need to have or use Snapchat,” said Sydney Machalek, junior.

She is not the only one who doesn’t feel the need to have a Snapchat. Why not just text friends?

“My main use of Snapchat is to see what my friends are doing,” said Sheldiah White, sophomore.

The Snapchat feature, filters. These are just active added layers on top of pictures such as puppy ears and nose, face swap, a deer voice changer, throwing up a rainbow, or of butterflies flying off a head. These add a sense of humor to every picture. Who wouldn’t want that in everyday chatting? It makes chatting more face-to-face than regular texting. Also, the bitmojis, little emojis that can be designed to look like the user by the user, add a personal touch to the snaps that texting won't provide.

“I use filters because it is funny to see what new ones they come up with and it’s fun to just mess around with them,” said White.

According to an article by Jordan Crook and Anna Escher at TechCrunch, Snapchat was created so that a man and his friends could send and receive inappropriate pictures and not be discovered. This use has since gone down, though is still used. Snapchat at its prime had both a teen/kid version and an adult version. The kid version was a lot more protected and private; whereas the adult version was more open (less private) and allowed posts to be made to local stories.

“I don’t like the inappropriate stories or uses on Snapchat because it is bad according to the Bible,” said Kora Taylor, freshman.

Snapchat is pretty great in most ways, however there are always downsides. Most snapchat users find a way around them. Snapchat usage at our school is more appropriate than other social media outlets used by students such as Instagram or Twitter.

“Snapchat is okay to use as long as it is not used inappropriately,” said Cole.