by Liv Selman
West Laurens High School
There’s no doubt that in 2024, we as a society live in two worlds – the one that’s physical, and the one that exists solely in our phones and computers, the world of social media.
Among all the different social media apps available, there is none quite like Snapchat. According to a 2024 study, there are currently 107.61 million Snapchat users in the United States. Snapchat makes it possible to communicate with many people at once with disappearing messages and snaps. Its casual and secretive nature has made it very attractive to teenagers and young adults. However, it is important to consider the effects that Snapchat can have on one’s personal relationships, especially romantic ones.
“Snapchat is a way for people to hide what they are doing with someone else from their friend or a partner,” said Averi Staus, an aspiring journalist.
Snapchat’s “snapscore” feature can create insecurity and awkwardness in relationships. By checking someone’s snapscore, one can see if they had snapped anyone by paying attention to whether or not the number had increased. This becomes problematic when one partner is waiting for a snap back from the other, and notices that their partner’s snapscore has gone up. This leads the person to wonder, “Who were they snapping if not me?”
“It can make you very obsessive over someone,” Staus said of the snapscore feature.
Snapchat also provides another unique feature known as the “snapmap.” The snapmap allows users to have access to the location of their friends on Snapchat if they have it allowed in their settings.
17-year-old Kathryn Bryan said this has caused problems. “For relationships, it makes people want to obsessively check locations to make sure cheating or lying is not going on.”
Snapchat ranks the eight people you interact with most as your “best friends list.” Someone may be concerned by this if they notice that someone else is higher up on their partner’s best friend list than them. Although this does not necessarily mean anything, it could lead someone to believe their partner is cheating or cause mistrust in the relationship.
Snapchat, along with all social media platforms, can be problematic for a person’s mental health. Studies report that 59% of people say that social media has negatively affected their mental health. If someone is struggling with their own mental state, how can they be expected to maintain a healthy relationship? Snapchat hurts relationships, even indirectly, through causing anxiety and depression.
Finally, Snapchat opens the door for cheating. The app gives people the ability to hide messages and who they are talking to easily and without a trace. Although most users of Snapchat are not cheaters, the app enables the people who are to get away with it with ease. It can also cause unwarranted suspicion and tension.
“Snapchat can be really unhealthy for a relationship.” Staus said.
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