The Snapchat Snafu: Woe Be to Users Since the Update

by Max Frommelt

    Snapchat has become the major social media of today. The newest update, released in January, has upset so many people that its power as a “social media king” may start to plummet.

    Snapchat, originally, is a simple social media platform that enables you to take a picture, add a caption, and send it to a friend. That was all it was: simple, easy, and free.

    Now the new update has been made and has merged the beloved photo sending frenzy with a news network. While this seems like a simple thing, Snapchat changed majority of the user interface to do so. This has angered many people and has created a growing group of unhappy users of the system. Snapchat has always been known for its simplicity and ease of use as a social media. People now have doubts about the applications original use and simplicity of the software.

    Anna Greenhalgh (‘16) says that, “It is unnecessary; if I wanted a news application, I would have downloaded one.” This seems to be the main response from snappers or “snapchat users.”

    The issue that the mass majority of snappers are upset with is the removal of the “Best Friends” system. Snapchat used to be able to mark three people as “Best Friends” because they are the top three snappers you send snapchats to. This system has now been dropped, and for heavy snappers, this is a major problem.

    Here is the interesting part: after getting used to the update, some snappers have had a change of heart, but many never had a problem with the update at all. Hannah Connolly (‘18) states, “The update is easier, I actually like it!”