Do you have a Snapchat?

This question is often heard on college campuses.

Since I have been at USI, I have observed that most  students use the app.

Either that or they just like making weird faces at their phone.

In layman terms, Snapchat is a popular mobile app that allows the user to send photos and videos that self-destruct after a maximum of ten seconds—super sketch.

While many are aware that Snapchat is used for “safe sexting”,  it would be unfair to say that is its only use.

Being a late joiner of the Snapchat party, I have the unique opportunity to be introduced to Snapchat fully in swing, as opposed to most students who joined when it was first created.

That being said, I think the party is a little overrated.

Being a person of conversation, Snapchat has been a source of great annoyance to me.

College students are looking for friends. That isn’t news to anyone. The university is a place full of students looking for connections and friends.

Yet, Snapchat is a primary source of communication for many students.

It is ironic that students looking for connections and actual friendships would use Snapchat to get to know one another because Snapchat is not communication.

Snapchat is nothing more than sending the same half-face selfie 500 million times.

And if you are lucky there might be a word or two about something completely random.

Being a college freshman, I want to make as many friends as I can.

Not Facebook friends.

Not Snapchat friends.

Real, tangible friends.

After Snapchatting new acquaintances for a few weeks, I came to the realization that these acquaintances were still acquaintances.

I didn’t know anything personal about them.

Sure I could tell you what their face looked like with a dog filter, but what does that matter?

I was looking for friendships.

I am  still looking for friendships, and I have discovered Snapchat is not the way to acquire them

While I do not think Snapchat is the way to get to know people, I do not think there is anything technically wrong with Snapchatting people you already know.

Communication is already in jeopardy due to social media usage and how people are more inclined to text over having face-to-face conversations.

I, by principal, am not a proponent of communication that is not face-to-face.

At the very least, I will opt for a phone conversation over any other medium.

Snapchat, however, is the very last medium I would choose to communicate with a person.

I like quality conversation, and good friendships are maintained through quality conversation.

Obviously I am just an unpopular voice saying words you probably think are a bunch of bologna.

But I encourage you to think about the kind of relationships you are looking for, and I encourage you to think about how you want to go about obtaining and maintaining those relationships.