Author: Alanna Fichtel

Whether or not you have Snapchat, you’ve probably heard about the most recent update. You can now send pictures or videos using “lenses” that put hearts in your eyes, make you vomit a rainbow, or blow smoke out of your nose — just to name a few. I’ll admit, I’m guilty of trying out the new update and wasting far more time than I should have – but I firmly believe that this time, Snapchat has gone too far.

 

 

In its infancy, Snapchat was simple, yet progressive – it basically mainstreamed the selfie. It allowed you to take funny pictures of yourself without ever having to see them again (except in the case of hilariously heinous pictures that only really close friends have unspoken permission to screenshot). But after it quickly gained tons of popularity, Snapchat started making some seriously questionable moves. Here’s a brief history:

Sending money through Snapchat (“Snapcash”)? I think it would be hard to find a single person who trusted that system, which is why the idea was abandoned quickly.

Snap stories sounded great when they were first introduced, but few anticipated the one friend whose story is 130 seconds long on a Tuesday night.

Live stories featuring exotic locales or events like music festivals have also gotten to be too much. Watching Campus Story to see if you or your friends were featured is enticing; stories for summer camps and college game days across the U.S. are not.

The Best Friend feature was a well-received update early on, especially by those who used it to see who their significant other or crush was really interested in. But this simple feature was recently replaced with emojis that represent an intricate code of Snapchat relationships and the number of consecutive days you’ve snapchatted someone. Memorizing what all the emojis mean would require more studying than most prelims, and keeping up snap streaks can be stressful.

 

 

There have already been a multitude of updates that changed the simplicity of what Snapchat was founded on, with the most recent update being my biggest grievance. Some of the filters are cute, but most are just scary and weird. I really don’t want to see how I’ll look when I’m 80. And the filters don’t always work the way you want them to – I’m pretty sure the tears aren’t supposed to be coming out of my nose. Not to mention: everyone’s stories are flooded with the same posed pictures – so is it really that funny?

 

 

Like most of the other Snapchat updates, excitement will probably fade over this one quickly (I hope). But before we know it, there will be yet another absurd update, and that may be my final straw. So Snapchat, do less.