Henry Blodget reported, “Snapchat users collectively receive approximately 400 million ‘Snaps’ a day.” Whether you have heard of Snapchat or not, the reality is that it is taking over the social media world and more that 80% of high schoolers’ lives. Some may use the social media messaging app that allows pictures to disappear in ten or less seconds as a good thing, but others are using this advantage for bad or even inappropriate behavior.
Since Snapchat is now such a popular app that it is almost assumed that teens use it. This can be used to help make friends such as if you don’t want to ask someone for their number you can just say, “Hey, do you have a Snapchat?” This can lead to a strong friendship, or even a relationship. You can simply type in anyones username and add them as a friend. Of course the person has to accept the request before they can recieve any pictures, but this does not always stop people from finding out personal information. A common phrase that is said about Snapchat is “The uglier the picture the stronger the friendship.” This is saying that you trust your friends not to screenshot it and use it for blackmail. Often times on someones birthday you will see a horrible screenshot of someone taken by their friends. This is true friendship. I, personally, have been put in this situation by my friends, there were some horrible pictures taken, but I just had to remember that it was all just a joke. Snapchat is a very easy site to make friends almost too easy.
Sending Snapchats are always dangerous, and this app claims that the pictures “disappear”, but they never really go away. The receiver of the message can preserve the moment by a simple screenshot, and if you “miss” the first time? No problem, just use Snapchat’s new update that allows the user to replay a snap. Even if they don't save the photo, Snapchat does. All pictures taken with this app are saved to Snapchat and are accessible for their use. If someone were to hack into Snapchat then they have all photos ever taken. In the Huffington Post, Meredith Smith wrote that Snapchat “does not actually delete the files, according to digital forensics examiner Richard Hickman. This means that the application's allure of guiltless sharing is not technically true, as pictures and can be retrieved, transferred and saved -- if you know where to look.” Smith is stating the disappointing truth that what snapchat claims to make disappear never actually goes away. Two experts agree that our “private” files are not private at all. The big problem is kids think that they are.
This popular social media site is not that secure; many teens think that once the ten seconds run out that picture is lost forever. This belief is horribly wrong and Snapchat attains the right to use any picture you take--inappropriate or not. Not only does Snapchat have this accessibility but anyone smart enough to hack into the Gibson Security System can get these pictures too, along with any other personal information you decide to include on your account. Doug Gross on CNN explained, “Hackers appear to have posted account info for 4.6 million users of quickie social-sharing app Snapchat, making usernames and at least partial phone numbers available for download.” From this we learn that it is never a smart idea to include any personal memorabilia whether it is a phone number or a body part; keep it to yourself because you never know who will see.
Since pictures are not well-protected and never go away, they can be used to hurt the sender. Snapchat can be helpful it also can be damaging to a person's reputation. This app can be harmful to relationships; for example if you are sending intimate pictures to one another and you get in a fight or breakup the pictures can become public as revenge. Some people use “a website called Snapchat Leaked popped up where people could post others’ Snapchat photos. The site caused a big stir because (a) Snapchat pics are supposed to be private, and (b) the pics are supposed to self-destruct after a few seconds, and (c) many of the pictures posted included nudity of some shape or form, sometimes slightly edited.” This is really dangerous because not only is Snapchat claiming that they are a safe social media site but they are also leaving many inappropriate photos practically unprotected because of their faulty security system. This has faulty has been experienced first hand when Miss Teen USA, Cassidy Wolf, was being watching for over a year before they found out who the hacker was. He was blackmailing her through Snapchat and changed her life completely by not being able to use certain social media sites.
Not only can Snapchat be used for revenge but it can also be used for bullying. “Snapchat is playing a role in cyber bullying incidents that have cropped up in the headlines recently,” explains Leigh Seger. friendships can be destroyed by just using this app which I think is a big issue and that no social media site should cause that much trouble in someones life. Recently, Leigh Sager writing for Covenant Eyes, reports how in Iowa a nude snapchat was taken of a female student changing in the locker room and sent around school without their consent. This type of behavior should never be acceptable because not only is it invading someone's personal privacy but it can also be very dangerous in the sense that someone you don't know gets a hold of these photos.
In conclusion, I think that teens need to be more aware of the possibilities that could happen with the pictures that they take on snapchat. Even though Snapchat claims that their pictures disappear in under 10 doesn't mean that they aren't accessible to hackers or anyone willing to go far enough to get them. Teens cannot send irrational pictures and not expect a consequence.