#603 – Snapchat

Snapchat is one of the newest social media available to smart phone users. I haven’t jumped on the Snapchat wagon yet and don’t plan on it. My students, however, are very fond of it. Snapchat allows its users to quickly send pictures back and forth to each other; it’s basically a faster form of picture messaging.

One of Snapchat’s draws is the ability to choose how long the pictures sent can be accessed. If I send you a Snapchat I decide how long you can look at it, anywhere from one to 10 seconds. After the time allotted, the picture is deleted and forever disappears…kind of.

Obviously there are plenty of dangers inherent in Snapchat. It is way too easy to sext and send lewd pictures back and forth. Even if Snapchat is used for less nefarious purposes, though, it is still plenty dangerous.

Snapchat is dangerous like every other social medium: it threatens our ability to have meaningful relationships. If we acknowledge that danger and actively work against it, then we can benefit from social media and how they support our relationships. The problem with Snapchat, though, is that it can do far more potential damage than Twitter or Facebook.

I pray that my students will avoid every danger of social media, especially those that could do irreparable damage to their futures and reputations. And, depending upon our social media of use, we should pray that for ourselves as well.