Snapchat: No fear of the white ghost
The good news first: you don't have to feel old or tech-illiterate if you don't understand Snapchat. Your child might not admit it, but they probably felt the same way at first. Because the social media app is anything but intuitive. You open it and you're immediately in photo mode. All other functions can only be accessed by wildly swiping, pressing and trying things out.
In a funny video by YouTube star Kelly MissesVlog, you can watch a live recording of her trying to get to grips with the app. She struggles with suddenly appearing functions and quickly disappearing messages like all other first-time users. Kelly is 21, by the way.
But why bother at all? Aren't there already enough social networks for self-expression? And why should I send pictures via Snapchat when I already have WhatsApp? In fact, Snapchat can't really do anything that you couldn't do with other apps. And yet the app with the little white ghost has what it takes to change the world of social media and our user behaviour. Two features make the app special - and both seem rather annoying at first glance.
Nevertheless, Snapchat is booming. According to the Swiss media usage study JAMES, 55 per cent of young people were already using Snapchat in 2014. In Germany and the USA, the app has already overtaken Facebook and Instagram. Teenagers often have the advantage of having other teenagers around them to show them how to use it. As parents, you can either resort to YouTube tutorials or, much better, ask your teenager. Because as well as guiding a teenager through the world of media, this is also part of good media education: for once, taking on the role of those to whom something is being explained. Let the children be the specialists for once.
Full attention - just like a real conversation
Firstly, there is the closed nature of the community - there is no way to search for friends. You have to know who you can find on Snapchat and under which user name - even spelling mistakes are not forgiven here. Simpler: you receive a person's snap code: displayed on your mobile phone in real life or sent as a photo. It's a bit like exchanging business cards. But it is precisely this closed nature that ensures that messages, videos and images are not simply sent out into the world at random, but are produced very specifically for certain target groups or a certain person. Snapchat is therefore an enormously personal network.
The second initially annoying feature of the app is the ephemeral nature of the content. If colleague XY sends you a video, you can usually only watch it once or twice - after that it's gone. The same applies to images. The sender can even choose how many seconds a picture can be viewed before it is deleted. It was precisely this feature that initially earned Snapchat the reputation of being a dirty app that is particularly suitable for sexting, i.e. sending lewd messages. Of course, the 700 million photos and videos sent every day also include nudity. But thanks to the many design options with filters and video editing functions, the focus is probably more on creativity and humour than on eroticism. So far, at least, there have been no major scandals surrounding the app.
And your teenagers probably already know that photos that disappear from the screen can also be saved somehow, via screenshot or external app. If not - make them aware of this very quickly!
In any case, the transience has one advantage: Snapchat users are not multitaskers. This social network doesn't run on the side; you have to consciously take your time and give messages your undivided attention - otherwise they'll be gone again. It's a bit like a real conversation: you can't rewind and repeat.
A simple toolbox for creative storytelling - right up to the point of silliness.
Snappers often go to great lengths with their pictures and videos. They add text messages to the pictures, put huge smileys over their faces, mark places on photos, superimpose the skyline of their city over the message thanks to their mobile phone's location function or wear virtual beards and bunny ears when recording the video. Many also throw up a rainbow - this function is particularly popular.
Does it all sound a bit silly? Maybe - but firstly, that's exactly why the app is so much fun, and secondly, the urge to play can also be used for creative and well thought-out video productions. Incidentally, Snapchat videos can be recognised by their portrait format, which is particularly suitable for selfies. A small revolution in the world of moving images dominated by landscape formats.
The second important function of the app alongside chat is stories. Stories and videos are made available here for 24 hours. Anyone who adds a user as a friend can see what has been going on with them today in a kind of collage. This can be as boring as Paris Hilton (username: realparishilton), who posts snaps of herself in front of the mirror online and goes shopping and partying in between.
But the content can also be exciting, like that of German journalist Daniel Bröckerhoff (doktordab), who comments on and explains the news and also provides a look behind the scenes at the TV channel ZDF. Stories are often also exciting from a creative point of view, because in addition to filters, video editing functions such as speeding up, slowing down, comics etc. are also used. It would be a shame to lose many a film. That's why the creator can save his own story or individual scenes from it.
The stories videos are also usually watched very carefully. A bit like television in the past: A broadcaster produces content and the others consume it. Critics accuse Snapchat of catering to the fear of missing out, or FOMO for short. However, in principle it is enough to click on the app once a day and look at the stories of all friends and celebrities in order not to miss anything - most young people are online much more often anyway.
Conclusion: Snapchat is private, close and personal. Swiss model Xenia (xenia), for example, not only shows herself perfectly styled in her snaps, but also talks about what she experienced today in her hotel bed without make-up. Comedian and presenter Stefan Büsser (stefanbuesser) reveals on Snapchat where he will be appearing next, even before it goes public. Snapchat forces us to use media very attentively and provides many exciting tools for creative storytelling. The danger of sending overly private content via Snapchat is great. Parents should therefore talk to their children about the fact that chat content does not simply go from mobile phone to mobile phone, but is sent via American servers. Snapchat promises not to store any data, but to actually delete all snaps after 24 hours - but there is no guarantee of this.
Snapchat tips for parents
- Snapchat is only allowed from the age of 13.
- Your child should explain Snapchat to you! The operation is not intuitive.
- Practise telling stories with your children - using Snapchat pictures, videos, filters and stickers. Storytelling is definitely part of media literacy, and Snapchat can be a great tool here.
- Talk to your children about the fact that Snapchat is also the internet. Pictures and videos that are snapped are therefore by no means private. They can be secretly saved by other users. In addition, there is no guarantee that Snapchat will not also save the data.
- Don't exaggerate! Snapchat is «cool» precisely because adults aren't there yet, talking about their everyday lives. It's good if you as parents know and understand the app. But you don't have to use it regularly.
Valuable links:
- snapmeifyoucan.net: Free Snapchat Guide as PDF
- snapgeist.com: Collection of exciting Snapchatters
- There is a four-part series of articles on the Medienpädagogik Praxisblog that explains Snapchat in detail and provides tips specifically for parents, teachers and media educators.
