Snapchat is a social media platform that has no "posts." You can send a picture to a friend that will disappear after they open it, or send messages that disappear after 24 hours, or a story post that will vanish in the same time. The idea is very interesting, and might've been the beginning of this very fast-paced social world we live in. However, Snapchat is more than just snaps.
The chat function is one of the most common forms of communication among people my age and younger. The act of exchanging phone numbers feels uncomfortable and too real, especially when you can just scan a code or add a friend of a friend without speaking in person and still have the same experience. This often leads people to use Snapchat for purposes similar to regular text, such as group chats and important conversations. My fraternity group chat is on Snapchat, and I don't have many of their phone numbers or contact information outside of that.
While most social media platforms are something that adds something to life, Snapchat seems to be a necessity that one cannot go without. This is an issue for people like me, who require evenings completely free of social media to be peaceful. But I cannot turn off notifications or delete the app when such important information is transmitted through this medium.
In this changing atmosphere of evolving methods of communication and expression, we must constantly ask ourselves, is this doing more harm than good? Is this bringing us together, or simply making it easier to be apart?
I really enjoyed reading your post! I like how you broke down Snapchat’s algorithm in a way that actually makes sense. Your examples about the unified video feed and chronological Stories made me think about my own Snapchat habits. I never realized how much the algorithm learns from what I watch and skip.
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