Think about the most popular social media platforms that you have on your phone. Apps that you use every day that are entertaining to you and that you probably couldn’t go a day without. I can almost guarantee that Snapchat is on that list.
Most people I know have downloaded Snapchat to have fun with the filters and kept it for the social aspect. It’s fun to see an inside of people’s lives on stories and through snaps sent back and forth. You can feel connected to people without actually having to be right next to them. And if you’re lucky enough to be considered a close friend, you can be placed on their private story to get an even more exclusive look into the life of your friend. While Snapchat can be fun and entertaining, can’t it also be damaging to a teenager’s mental health and well-being?
I got Snapchat in 6th grade and was immediately hooked. I loved sending my friends photos throughout the day and seeing what they were up to when we weren’t together. I loved updating my private story on every aspect of my life from how my day at school was to what I got at the mall that day. I loved texting people more casually and making sure they didn’t half swipe me (Yes, I was a Snapchat plus user don’t come at me). I loved snapping my best friend all day to get her higher up on my best friend’s list.
Six months ago, I decided to make a crazy, life changing decision (to a teenager anyways), and delete Snapchat. I realized that I didn’t want to see all the things people were posting that made their lives seem so great. I constantly was comparing my life to theirs through photos or 15 second videos. Now don’t get me wrong, I love social media but, you never actually see people’s true lives. The things posted are carefully curated to make lives look better and I’ll admit that I’m guilty of this too. But there’s a difference between seeing fun photos of someone’s life and comparing their life to yours. And I got sick of it.
Now this is not the case for everyone, but I noticed that I was unhappy. Snapchat was constantly bringing me dissatisfaction with my own life, and I was getting so tired of this that I muted everyone’s stories, so I didn’t have to see them. A short period of time went by, and I then turned off notifications for the app. I thought that these two solutions would fix my problem, but they didn’t. I was putting in so much effort to keep an app that didn’t benefit me personally in any way.
When I finally decided that deleting this app was the best solution for me, I was reluctant but excited. I wanted it gone for so long, but I was sucked in and didn’t want to miss out on anything. I chose to hit that little delete button on my screen, and I couldn’t be gladder that I did so. A lot of my friends were confused and begged for me to get it back (they still do), which I don’t blame them for but, I know that this was the best choice I could’ve made.Â
Now I get to connect with people on a more personal level. I’m not communicating solely through photo snaps and swiping up on stories. I’m not showing people I like them by saving their snaps in the chat or remixing those photos to sticker for later. While it is a bit more awkward to ask people for their phone numbers instead of their Snapchat usernames, I believe that I’ve grown. I now value talking to friends face to face, meeting new people and chatting, and making conversation with others about what they did over the weekend instead of seeing it through their stories.Â
Social media, especially Snapchat can be hard to part with. But I can also say that once I did it, I haven’t missed it at all. Deleting Snapchat was the most positive impact on my life and if you’re debating about doing so, I say do it.Â