How 13-Year-Olds Really Use Snapchat

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Teens love their privacy. Snapchat offers just that ... along with a multitude of risks.

Image: Image: Mashable composite. Getty Creative, , Refluo

By Ruby Karp2014-06-26 08:02:41 -0400

Today, I'm here to talk with you about an app. This app is called Snapchat. I warn you: Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Snapchat is used in multiple ways, but this is how I see it being used between me and my other teen friends: for fun (ugly selfies, silly pictures, etc.), or in a way my mother would be horrified to see children use it (she calls it a “porn portal”).

See also: I'm 13 and None of My Friends Use Facebook

The reason kids/teens love it so much is because it is one of the only apps that is relatively private. Your parents have no access to it. It is the only app your mom cannot trace back to you after seeing you tagged in a photo, the way she can on Facebook or Instagram.

With Snapchat, we use text and sometimes draw on our images. Basically try to crack each other up.

But it can also be used for other types of photos: the stuff of nightmares for parents. With Snapchat, your nude cannot (typically) be traced back to you, due to the fact that the photo literally lasts 10 seconds, or less. This is pretty appealing to teens and adults looking for a “good time.”

Image: Snapchat, Ruby Karp

Personally, I do not recommend sending them in the first place, though. To every teenager thinking of sending a nude over Snapchat: Just because it goes away in 10 seconds does not mean it won't last a lot longer. There have been incidents with nudes being screenshotted among my friends. And remember Snap Save, an app where you can screenshot the picture sent to you, without the person knowing.

As a teen, if one of those pictures gets out at school, your whole social life is over. Your teachers could see, and there is a lot more at risk. This is probably one of the worst things a person could do to you on this app. It’s like listening in on a phone call; it’s creepy.

Image: Snapchat, Ruby Karp

Aside from all that, Snapchat isn’t that bad. Yes, there is a innocent part of it! You choose who you follow, who follows you, and in general, you’re following your friends. You can either put your picture to your “story,” meaning you put it up on a page that displays the image to all of your Snapchat contacts, or you can send the picture to individual people. The Snapchats my friends and I send each other are mostly just double chins and weird pictures of our pets with some dumb caption.

But kids also talk through Snapchat. I know if your parent reads your texts, Snapchat is your new savior. Snapchat disappears so quickly, whatever you say will not be traced back to you. Well, depending on the circumstance.

I just graduated eighth grade, so when my friends get in trouble, it isn’t typically for sending “nudes,” because, well, we’re 14. Instead, Snapchat can be used as a bullying method. Often people post “stories” of who they are with, what they are doing, etc. This can leave kids out and make them feel upset. (Mindy Kaling said it best: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Yes, yes they are.) I try not to say anything risky in text messages, and I think bullies have the same method: They’re saving it for Snapchat. I have received hurtful Snapchats, but I have no proof that they ever said anything to me, because the picture went away in 10 seconds.

The great thing about this app for a teenager is that parents have no idea what it is, how to use it and, best of all, they can’t comment on the photos you’re sharing with your friends. Most parents probably do not even know how to use the app overall. Kids love privacy, especially when they are in their teen years. This app gives us a way to send messages, with no fear in our minds that our parents will ever see it. That is the best and worst part about Snapchat.

I think it is up to you how you use the app. And to every overprotective parent out there: As crazy as it may sound, don’t fret too much over the app. I’m sure your kid is just sending some ugly selfie of themselves! But if your kid takes off clothing, goes into the bathroom, shuts the door and you do not hear the shower water coming on: Be very afraid.

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Ruby Karp

Ruby Karp is a 13-year-old New Yorker trying to figure out how to survive middle school. You can find her on Twitter @rubykarp, her Tumblr or via her ...More

Topics: apps, Apps and Software, contributor, Family & Parenting, Children, Lifestyle, Mobile, snapchat, Social Media, teens