Marianna GlynskaTeacher, artist
Today, it doesn’t surprise anyone to see two people sitting at the table and staring into their smartphones. It might even come to paradoxical situations when people come to visit each other and after a few polite phrases come distracted by the beeping noise of the smartphone to the extent that they might even forget that there’s another person sitting on the couch. At times, it seems scary, and the main fear is that the virtual conversation is overpowering real-time communication. But, maybe, it’s just a natural process of evolution as we are steadily moving towards virtual reality. Maybe, social media platforms are just new ways of people’s communication.
Social media platforms become more and more popular, and more and more people create a Facebook account all over the world. After the growth and enormous popularity of Facebook, even more social networks have appeared. Among the most popular ones are Instagram and Snapchat. While Instagram was acquired by Facebook, Snapchat is gaining more and more popularity, especially among the teenagers. So, what is Snapchat? What’s the use of it? Is it a tool just to ‘waste’ the time, like browsing the Internet mindlessly, or is it a really valuable tool for new-age communication?
Snapchat is an app that allows people to exchange messages in the form of short videos and photos. The unique and extraordinary feature of snapchat is the ephemeral nature of such messages as photos and videos disappear after some time, they just get self-destructed. The content, obviously, doesn’t get saved for years. This fact adds a frivolous and funny nature to the messages. The interaction, thus, happens in the present moment, which is mostly reminiscent of the real life conversation, in which things said do not get recorded and stay forever. Snapchat also gives the possibility to post photos and videos as part of the story clip; such story clips disappear 24 hours after they had been posted. To use the app, one has to have an account. One can simply refer to the advice on how to create a Snapchat account, and start using the app if one feels like it. But, I think, before starting doing something, one has to stop for a moment and ask himself or herself a question: What’s the point of it? Am I just following the fashionable trend or do I really need or want to use it? Won’t it take too much time?
Unfortunately, social media can take quite a lot of time, time that could be spent on more useful things, like learning something new or spending real time with real friends. But if used smartly, it won’t bring any harm. Moreover, it helps us get connected with someone who is far away. In the case with Snapchat, it allows us to see what our friends abroad doing, where they live. With Snapchat, one has to worry much less about their personal pictures getting exposed and, thus, can send some really funny pictures. Snapchat can give valuable experience of looking back at one’s visual story and reevaluating one’s way of life. Since it gives more emphasis on visual communication, it can help develop an eye for photography and video. But, if the person gets addicted to the Internet and social media too quickly and feels like he or she doesn’t have time for anything, then it’s better to avoid using Snapchat and devote time to really important things in life, like studies or work.
Source: huffingtonpost.com
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