Signal Fall 2017 Newsletter

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9
A study conducted by researchers at the University of
Washington and Seattle Pacific University found that users
aren’t necessarily bothered by the potential for snaps being saved by others, because
they don’t use Snapchat to share sensitive content. Rather, the app is seen as more of a
creative outlet, particularly with the ability to draw on photos. The most common types
of content study respondents reported sending via Snapchat were “funny things,” “myself,”
“people,” and “what I’m up to.” 2
Behind the Snaps
Snapchat was started by Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown, and Bobby Murphy, who met
as students at Stanford University. The three launched Snapchat, then known as
Pictaboo, in 2011. The same year, the name was changed to Snapchat, and the app
began to take off, with 1,000 users by the end of the year and 100,000 users just
a few months later. In 2012, the app launched on Android and started allowing
video snaps. By 2013, users were sending 150 million snaps per day, and Snapchat
launched the Stories feature. In 2014, the app added messaging and video chat, and was
cited by comScore as the third most popular social app among millennials.3 As of early
2016, Snapchat has grown to 100 million daily users and is valued at $16 billion.4
The media-sharing app has historically been viewed as a trend that will quickly die
out, as have other social media sites in the past. However, according to investment
advice site The Motley Fool, Snapchat users view 7 billion videos per day, which
approaches the 8 billion per day viewed on Facebook. This is especially impressive
considering that Snapchat is only a mobile application, with no desktop functionality,
and that the number of daily active users on Snapchat is just a fraction of Facebook’s.5
Talking toTeens
About Snapchat
The minimum age for using Snap-
chat is 13 and, since its inception,
the app has been very popular
among teens. As you do with all
new things in your children’s lives,
talk to your kids about how they use
the app and warn them against its
potential harm.
Snapchat isn’t known for the bullying
that takes place on other social media
sites, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t
happen. Kids should be made aware
of this and encouraged to tell a trusted
adult if it occurs. Other dangers include:
hacking if the teen reveals their password,
receiving inappropriate snaps from
strangers, and snaps the teen sends
being saved and used against them.
The same Internet safety rules that apply
to other sites are also relevant here:
• Treat others respectfully.
• Choose your friends carefully.
• Manage your privacy settings.
• Don’t share anything you wouldn’t
want your friends, teachers, parents,
or future employers to see.
• Keep your password private.
The good news is that bad stuff is
the exception. Talk with your kids
about Snapchat and then let them
snap away.
18%
of all U.S. social media
users use Snapchat. 6
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From 2014 to 2015, Snapchat’s revenue jumped from
$3 million to $50 million.6