Snapchat is one of the fastest growing social media accounts today. Snapchat can be used to share pictures and chats between friends. Also you can post things to “your story” and all of your followers can see what you post. Snapchat has several fun filters, however, it is super important to teach your child how to be safe while using this application.
Snapchat has a “quick add” section under the add friends tab, and random people will come across that list as suggested friends. These people can be friends of your children, or they can be random people that they just so happen to have a mutual friend with. Sometimes your children may know people on this list, and sometimes they may not. It is important if someone adds your child as a friend, and they do not know who they are, they immediately block them from seeing their snapchats. You can block a user or ignore a user. If you ignore a user, they can always re-add you, and if you block a user they will not be able to contact you.
Most children think that once they take a snapchat, it is gone forever. WRONG! All snapchats are going through a server, so snapchat highly recommends not sending illicit photos period. Snapchats are assumed to be deleted after both parties open the snapchat, but no snapchat is guaranteed to be deleted forever. Screenshotting is also something that can be done when a snapchat is sent to someone. Snapchat is based on how much time you allow the person receiving the photo to see it, which is anywhere from 1-10 seconds.
Screenshots can be done even if you send the photo to someone for one second. Snapchat is fun application if used safely. Parents you need to make sure your children know who they are friends with on snapchat, and make sure they are sending appropriate pictures to their friends. Take time to educate your children about being safe on all social media accounts, and take time to learn the different applications that your children use.