There are multiple methods of receiving news in this day and age–a thin, freshly printed newspaper delivered to the front door, local television broadcasts, and social media newsfeeds. Teens scroll through their Twitter and Facebook newsfeeds, momentarily pausing to read the tidbits of information that immediately attract their attention. Social media is an easily accessible, quick way to stay informed–you can see your friend’s pictures from a trip to Bethany Beach and learn about a natural disaster at the same time. It truly is effortless to stay informed via social media: it takes only a tap of the finger, a press of a button.
Some stay informed with an app used by 100 million people every day–Snapchat. Our twenty-first century brains are inundated by videos and five-second pictures all with the touch of a finger.
Broadcasted worldwide, Snapchat’s 24-hour live stories are video clips that each last 10 seconds or less, rapidly teaching its users about various regions of the world every day. For example, its broadcasts have included Hajj, an Islamic annual pilgrimage to Mecca, New York Fashion Week, and Spain’s Tomatina Festival, during which people throw tomatoes at each other. These live stories showcase a broad spectrum of activities taking place in the world that surrounds us.
According to a survey of 100 Stone Ridge students, 88 percent watch Snapchat’s live stories and 72 percent have learned something from those live stories, be it different cultural celebrations, recipes, or celebrity gossip. Snapchat is evidently emerging as a prime news outlet for our community and the world at large. Says Carmen Perry, ’16, “I think [the live story] is a great addition to snapchat. They keep me updated about what is going in my local community and around the world.”
Live stories are filled with snaps submitted by people from the specific region being broadcasted. The story submissions portray a beginning, middle, and end of an event or day in the life of that particular area, from a community perspective. Twenty million people view these live stories every day. For example, Snapchat has allowed the lives of people in lndia, Kenya, and Abu Dhabi to be displayed to the world.
Seeing these stories and the variety of perspectives that they provide, through simple 10-second or less videos and images, may change previously held preconceptions about a country or its people. “Because Snapchat has a lot of stories for various countries, I am able to learn not only about their culture but also their geographic location,” says Anneliese Goetz, ’16. The ease of simply tapping to watch moving video and sound is certainly appealing. “Snapchat is an innovative way to communicate and stay informed, I really like it,” says Anna Cantilena, ’16.
The Coachella Music Festival Snapchat live story made viewers feel that they were there singing along with Drake. “The Coachella live story was so cool!” remarked Michelle Reilly, ’16. She even commented on “a university campus’ annual quidditch match, [which] was hysterical and showed the wide variety in this great news outlet, from [the] local to global [scale].”
Another Snapchat feature is the discover section, which exhibits different news sources, including Cosmopolitan, National Geographic, Food Network, and CNN. Perry takes full advantage of the discover section because “The ESPN section allows [her] to catch this past week’s latest highlights, ranging from football games to soccer matches.” She also “love[s] to watch the National Geographic story because [she is] able to learn about a variety of species or about hot topics concerning the environment.”
Snapchat live stories allow people to see events that they otherwise would not for 24 hours. However, if you’re in a location being streamed on a Snapchat live story, don’t be disappointed if your submission isn’t approved and included on the area’s live story, because users have a 0.25 percent chance of their submission being featured in a live story.
Viewers enjoy and relate to the unpolished, authentic art of Snapchat, because life is not edited.
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