With over 100 million daily users, Snapchat has experienced a staggering increase in users since its beginning in 2011. For a quick summary of what the Snapchat app is, click HERE prior to reading the facts below.
Five things every parent should know about Snapchat:
1. Snapchat is a means of communication and like any form of communication, it can be used for good or bad. Talking with your teen about Snapchat and ensuring open communication is extremely important.
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2. The "Terms of Use" Snapchat offers should be read and discussed with children. These terms include verifying the user is at least 13 years of age and, if under age 18, they have parental permission. The user also agrees to grant Snapchat access to their address book and allows it to upload that information to its servers.
3. In 2015 Snapchat Discover was created as a place where various media outlets such as BuzzFeed, Vice, MTV and Cosmopolitan share content designed specifically for Snapchat. A class-action lawsuit was filed by a 14-year-old boy and his mother based on the explicit content found on the app. Click HERE to read the full complaint.
4. When a Snapchat account is created, the user accepts full responsibility of the content exchanged while logged on. If a teen boy is Snapchatting a teen girl and an inappropriate image is exchanged and saved, it may be deemed possession of child pornography. Likewise, the viewer has no way to filter the content others are sending.
Image: time4selfie.com