#38 Negative Effects of Snapchat For Teens - SmartSocial.com Podcast by Josh Ochs

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Are your kids addicted to Snapchat? Do you wonder the long term effects that Snapchat can have on them?

In this episode Josh walks you through some of the worst features of Snapchat. You will learn what a Streak is, how students share passwords and also how the Snap Map feature is dangerous.

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Teen Snapchat statistics

• People under the age of 25 use Snapchat for 40 minutes on average
  every day, more than Instagram’s latest stat for the same demographic
• Snapchat ranks as the most popular social media site among teenagers
• Users 25 and younger visit Snapchat over 20 times per day

Sources:
1,
2,
3

Teen social media statistics

• 91% of 16-24 year olds use the internet for social networking
• Social media use is linked with increased rates of anxiety,
  depression and poor sleep
• Social media has been described as more addictive than cigarettes and
  alcohol

Source:
1
2

What is a Streak?

• A Streak is given to users who have sent each other Snaps
  consistently for two days or more
• A fire emoji (🔥) will appear next to a friend’s name along with a
  number. The number indicates how many days you have consistently
  messaged that user back and forth

Snapchat can be addictive for teens

According to ABC News:

• Snapchat has mechanisms in place to incentivize teens to become daily
  users with a phenomenon called the Streak

• Experts say Streaks can create a concerning hierarchy of friendship
  that can leave some teens afraid to disappoint others if they drop a
  Streak

• “The more you cannot leave one day without being on social media, the
  more your identity gets wrapped up in it [and] the more likely it’s
  going to have negative effects,” an expert warned

According to Business Insider:

• Snapchat Streaks have become the most important metric in social
  media for teens Because teens invest so much time in their Streaks,
  it’s common to ask friends to “Streak” for you if you’re unable to
  log on — for example, if you got your phone taken away
• “One of my friends actually called me while I was sleeping to make
  sure our Streak would still be going,” a student said. “He called me
  four times and woke me up to keep the Streak alive. He was like, ‘Are
  we still Streaking?'”
• “A big part of [Snapchat Streaks] is social acceptance,” a
  15-year-old student admitted. “Having more streaks makes you feel
  more popular”

According to Psychology Today:

• It is not uncommon to hear a tween bragging about the number of
  streaks they have going as well as about the length of each of these
  streaks. The longer the streak, the higher it’s perceived value
• It is not uncommon to find a 12-year-old user who set up a Snapchat
  account (without their parents knowing). Streaks may really matter to
  your tween. Suddenly asking your tween to stop keeping up their
  Streaks could really stress them out

“Snap Map” lets people locate your teen

• This feature lets teens “pinch to zoom” on their story page and view
  the map where their friends are posting from

• Predators and scammers use geolocation to know where your kids are at