Pros And Cons Of Snapchat

In a world with constant, rapidly evolving technology, it’s often hard to decide whether a new invention will ultimately serve to help or hinder the human experience. Case in point, the ever popular app “Snapchat”. At first glance, Snapchat seems to be a fairly simple, innocuous photo-sharing platform; the user can send picture which will be deleted upon opening. Not only simple but revolutionary. When, in the past, could someone send a snapshot of exactly what they are doing to someone on the other side of the world, with such ease? Though upon further inspection, it becomes clear this seemingly harmless app can alter the way our society functions. I believe Snapchat proved to be the most distracting and disadvantageous mobile technology of 2014.
The characters’ in Nineteen-Eighty-Four have no real privacy in their futuristic society. There is a two-way telescreen in everyone’s home, which is viewed by the omnipresent “Big Brother”. While studying this novel in my twelfth-grade literature class, my teacher advised us, “Today, it isn’t a Big Brother we have to worry about, it’s all of the Little Brothers”. I am reminded of this quote anytime I spend extended periods of time in public. Without fail, people are always taking pictures of their day. Whether it’s an aesthetically pleasing meal they’ve been served, a picture of themselves, or an undisclosed photo of an attractive stranger, Snapchat is open and ready to permanently document everyone’s