I love Snapchat. A lot.
Have you embraced it yet?
If you don't know what Snapchat is or you don't really understand it, allow me to explain. Snapchat lets you send a picture or a short video with a small caption to a friend (or multiple friends). Sounds like what we've already been able to do for years via text, right? WRONG, because here's the catch: Once they look at the picture or video, it disappears! It's gone forever!!
Get it? No? I didn't understand Snapchat at first either. What's the point of sending all these funny pictures that are just going to disappear? Or what if I look really good that day and I don't want the selfie I sent to disappear?? Or what if someone else looks really good and I don't want their selfie to disappear??? WHAT IF THOSE 7 SECONDS WERE JUST NOT ENOUGH?!?!?
"Just wait until you get to Provo," a friend told me. "You'll be forced to learn to use it." Well, ain't that the truth!
After a lot of practice, Snapchat makes perfect sense to me now. I mean, how else would we let our friends know exactly what we're doing, and how we're feeling, and how we're feeling about what we're doing?
There are so many ways you can use Snapchat, many of which involve selfies. It's sort of a dream come true for me, because, well... I love selfies. Am I allowed to admit that? I love them both for their comedic element and for the fact that I am in control of holding the camera above eye level so I'll never have an unintentional double chin. I ask you, is that so wrong??
Ways to put your selfies to good use include:
To complain...
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| Which might explain...... |
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| Just FYI I got an A in that class *hollaaaa* |
To make fun of Mom...
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| She gave me permish to post this Louis Tomlinson look-alike pic |
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| Best nightttt |
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| Pretty sure I only sent this to my sisters... Is this why they hate me? |
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| Покой царит |
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| Yeah, we dyed our hair blue. It washed out the next morning when I went running in the rain. Don't worry, Mom! |
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| Wut. |
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| The majesty of the bald eagle. |
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| The garbage bags in the background really add to the ambience |
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| Pics or it didn't happen |
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| At 6 pm |
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| *Tears actually brought on by laughter at my mom |
Snapchat is the most effective way to share special moments such as these with our friends and loved ones.
I will admit, I'm a little sad that the snaps have to disappear after you watch them. I mean, obviously some snaps are completely ridiculous, but sometimes it would be nice to look back on the memories we've documented with our snaps!
Maybe that's just a depressing metaphor for our generation - we put all this time into creating our image for vanity's sake, only to find that all our efforts will soon disappear and be forgotten...
... I, however, like to think about it more positively. Snapchat is a refreshing reminder that, unlike Instagram would have us believe, the most important thing in life isn't getting tons of likes. By sharing the sometimes mundane details of our day, we can strengthen our ties with our friends even from afar. And, as stupid as it may sound, sometimes a well-timed snap has a way of turning a particularly lousy day into a sort of happy one.
So, Snapchat, I think I'll keep you.
