Nancy Jo Sales, author of “American Girls: Social Media And The Secret Lives Of Teenagers,” told NPR’s Terry Gross that when it comes to social media, the number of likes and followers has taken teen popularity contests to a whole new level. She says, “What is new is that there’s now a number, there’s now an actual number of people or followers or likes that you can get to quantify how good you are, how interesting you are, how popular you are, and this is a new thing.” Also, there are no “like” buttons to press so there is no obsession over how many Likes you are getting as can be the case on apps like Instagram and Musical.ly. So what’s good about Snapchat? Kids can express their creativity by picking filters and drawing on their photos and videos. You’ll also learn how to take a screenshot on Snapchat without anybody knowing about it (for realz). You will laugh but you will also be a bit concerned by how much time some young people are spending on apps like Snapchat. If you want to understand the allure of Snapchat or has much as you can if you’re not a tween or teen, check out Buzzfeed’s very funny article, My Little Sister Taught Me How to “Snapchat” Like the Tweens.

It became well known because messages (known as “Snaps”) disappear a short time (one to 10 seconds) after being viewed or within 24 hours on an individual’s “Storyline.” Of course, we all know in the world of screenshots and servers – nothing really ever seems to disappear on the Internet. Snapchat is a messaging app where users can share photos, videos, drawings and text. I made her set up a private account and only her friends and family can follow her.īut I barely had time to relax on my couch and peruse her Instagram feed before she was groveling for Snapchat. And despite the fact that Instagram is for kids 13 and older, most of her 5th grade friends have it and I finally relented. I think it was Snapchat that finally did her in.īefore my tween (age 11) started begging me daily for Snapchat, her heart was set on Instagram.

How did this mother perish, they will someday ask? Oh, she just collapsed under the weight of trying to decide which apps were appropriate for her kid. My oldest daughter’s apps are killing me.

How old is snapchat