Giving in to Snapchat...

I didn’t get the point of Snapchat at all when it first went nuts across the smart phone app world.

To be fair, I didn’t really know what it really was. Why use a whole app when you can send a photo in your text message or iMessage?

Snapchat lovers would say that “it’s fun” because the picture disappears after a few seconds, and that it’s quicker than sending an image via normal messaging. I still remained unconvinced. Who cares if the photo disappears? This just seems an open channel to sent pictures of rude and gross things I don’t particularly care to see.

But, after more and more friends of mine started talking about that Snapchat they got sent by this person or that person, I started to feel a little left out. Is this a new ‘thing’ all the cool kids are on and I’m missing out? Argh. How many more things are those brainiacs going to come up with!!

I don’t want a billion platforms to connect with my friends. Facebook is more than enough (too much), Instagram is ok, and that’s where I want to stop!

So, for “professional purposes only” I decided it best to have a look before I get all judgey. And it took me a while to even bother with it. I didn’t know what picture to take. What picture was worth taking and sending to my friends but only worth lasting for five seconds once they opened it?

It’s a conundrum. A fine line.

I’m far too cool to take selfies unless I’m sending an uggo one back to my 12 year cousin who is sending me pretty photos of herself, so what does one take on Snapchat?

Pets. That’s the answer. My dog is the cutest dog you’ll ever see, so I sent a bunch of her looking awesome. And my cat. Then I decided to be a bit funny, and took a photo of the inside of my arm looking like a bum, and sent that off to a few people.

And now that the weather is getting better, I’m receiving snaps of the typical sunset and beer, bushwalks and waterfalls, legs at the beach, etc. My favourite are videos of my friend’s pet snake (actual pet snake; don’t be rude) that she constantly sends me, withering around her bed or her pantry or wherever, because she knows I hate the crap out of snakes.

So by now I have given in to Snapchat for sure. But it’s not at all bad. For one thing, I have very few friends on there that I interact with, so it’s not like I’m getting all these photos to look at all times of the day. It’s not a text message so there’s no obligation to send a reply.

And the interaction is just between you and one other person, so there’s no likes or comments or constant notifications. Hooray.

I don’t think Snapchat will last forever. For one thing not that many people I know use it, or have even heard of it, so if you equate that to the wider world of smartphone users, it’s definitely not the most favourite puppy at the pound.