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Edit date: 29/05/19
What parents need to know about SNAPCHAT Snapchat is a photo sharing app for mobile phones and tablets. The app allows users to share images, videos and chat with friends through voice call or text message. Users can share images and videos directly to specific friends, or through a ‘story’ shared with their entire friend list, which documents the previous 24 hours. In a study, Snapchat was ranked the 4th most negative app in terms of having an impact on young people’s health and wellbeing, with children feeling that they can use the app Snapchat to“make you look pretty.”
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EXTRASTOMAKE YOUSTAY
The ‘Snap Map’ lets you share your EXACT location in real-time through a map on the app. The user’s location updates when the app has been opened on the device. There is a warning on the Snapchat website about uploading images and videos to ‘Our Story’ stating that “snaps you submit to ‘Our Story’ can still show up on the Map, no matter which location setting you choose!.”When uploading to ‘Our Story,’ your child’s image or video could appear in“Search results and Stories on or off Snapchat - today or in the future.” EXPOSINGYOURCHILD’S EXACTLOCATION
SEXTING
While Snapchat’s gimmick is that all photos, videos and text disappear eventually, users still have the capability to screenshot or record anything which has been sent to them. Users may sometimes forget that screenshotting is possible and send a compromising image or message to somebody who they think they trust. Due to ‘Snaps’ disappearing, (users can even send a one-second photo or video), Snapchat has become the chosen platform for children and young people to send sexually explicit images or ‘selfies.’ Once a photo/video has been screenshotted, or recorded using another device or software, this can lead to further dangers, such as blackmail and cyberbullying.
Aside from taking photos and videos, Snapchat has other elements to keep users coming back for more. ‘Snap Games’ is a feature within the app where users can play minigames with others on their friends list. The games function is easily accessed by tapping on the rocket button during a conversation. Another feature on the app is ‘Snap Originals’, which allows users to watch content created by Snapchat, celebrities and other accounts, including a mixture of comedy shows, drama, news and more. These features are designed to encourage users to stay on the app, which may be quite addictive.
ADDICTIVE SNAPSTREAKS
DAMAGETO CONFIDENCE
It is illegal to make, possess, download, store and share sexual images, photos and videos of a person under the age of 18. This also includes any sexual images, photos and videos that a child may have taken of themselves. However, if a young person is found creating or sharing images, the police can choose to record that a crime has been committed, but taking formal action isn’t in the public interest.
‘Snap Streaks’ are gained when snaps have been sent back and forth consecutively between friends. The longer that snaps are sent between users, the longer the streak becomes. Furthermore, Snapchat rewards users who have achieved high Snap Streaks, by gifting emojis, adding incentives for users to keep the streaks. Children invest time into making their streaks as long as possible, which can put an incredible amount of pressure on both themselves and their friendships.
Snapchat's selection of filters and lenses are seen as a great way to enhance your ‘selfie game’. Although the filters are often created to promote entertainment and humour, using the ‘beatify’ filters on photos can set unrealistic expectations and create feelings of inadequacy. Children may strive for admiration and appreciation by sending these ‘edited’ photos to their friend list. Judging themselves against other users on the app might threaten their confidence or self-worth.
Top Tips for Parents USE‘GHOSTMODE’ We highly recommend enabling ‘Ghost Mode’ on the app so that your child’s location will no longer be visible to anyone on the ‘Snap Map.’To enable this, go onto the Snap Map and tap the cog in the top-right corner. Here, change the setting to ‘Ghost Mode.’ HOWTODELETEAMESSAGE Advise your child never to send any negative messages (or images through gallery in the chat on the app) as screenshots can still be taken. You should also advise your child to screenshot any negative comments they receive as the sender can also delete them. To delete a message, simply press and hold the sent message and press delete. TURNOFF‘QUICKADD’ ‘Quick Add’ helps friends find each other on the app. This is based on mutual friends or if their number is in their phone book. Explain to your child that this feature can open up their profile to strangers. We highly recommend that your child turns off the ‘Quick Add’ feature. This can be done in the settings.
RESTRICTSTORYVIEWS Your child can add videos and images to their ‘Story’ throughout the day which will last for 24 hours. By default, anyone in a user’s friends list can see their story. We recommend checking the privacy settings to ensure that this has not been edited. This can simply be done in the apps settings under the ‘Who Can View My Story’ section. The options to choose from are ‘My Friends,’‘Everyone’ or ‘Custom’ - we suggest that it is set to ‘My Friends.’
REPORTINGASTORY,LENS, FILTER,SNAPORMESSAGE If your child comes across inappropriate Snapchat content sent directly to them or in another person’s story, advise them to report it immediately. This may include an inappropriate lens, filter, message or snap. To report an offensive lens, they should open the app and select the lens they want to report. An info button will appear above the lens. Click this, followed by the flag icon. This will send a report to Snapchat for further investigation. Reports can also be made on the Snapchat support website: support.snapchat.com. THERISKSOFSEXTING It can be slightly awkward talking about this topic with your child, but if it helps them protect themselves, it is worth it. Talk to them about the consequences of sexting and make sure that they’re aware of the risks. Ensure your child knows that ‘Snaps’ can be screenshotted. Teach them that if they post anything potentially embarrassing or harmful (either of themselves or someone else) it can have severe consequences as the message, image or video can be shared further.
Status of Mind: Social media and young people’s mental health | Life in Likes - Children’s Commissioners Report | Google Play Store | https://support.snapchat.com/en-US https://netsanity.net/snapchat-parent-review/ | BT.com | Independent.co.uk
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