Snapchat allows users to send photos and videos that disappear after being viewed for up to 10 seconds. While Snapchat aims to provide privacy, images can still leave a digital footprint through screenshots or third party apps. The increasing prevalence of sexting on social media can have negative consequences, especially for young women, with images sometimes being shared without consent. A person's digital footprint from social media can also impact opportunities like college admissions or jobs if inappropriate or private content is discovered online.

1. Snapchats Linger for Longer than 10
Seconds
A Closer Look at Sexting and Digital Footprints
By Stephanie Sheridan
Photo Source: Pixabay, No Title by MIH83

2. “Snapchat lets users send photo
and video messages that
disappear after they
are viewed, usually
within 10 seconds.”
“CEO and
co-founder Evan
Spiegel said users were
sharing 350 million photos a
day.” - Whitehouse
Photo Source: Flickr “Snapchat” by AdamPrzezdziek

3. “Everyone gets hung
up on how the
disappearance of
images may (or may
not) afford a new
kind of privacy. The
underlying message
is simple: You've got
7 seconds.
PAY ATTENTION.
And when people do
choose to open a
Snap, they actually
stop what they're
doing and look.”
-Boyd
Photo Source: Pexels, No Title by Sonja Langford

4. Photo Source: Flickr, “Pro Juventute Aufklärungskampagne ‚Sexting’ Themenbild_03“ by Pro Juventute

5. “Snapchat — which, Forbes reports, is used mainly by young people between
the ages of 13 and 24 — has been touted as a “consequence-free“ photo- and
video-sharing platform,
allowing users to send files
that self-destruct after 10
seconds or less, upon
being opened by the
recipient”
-Mosbergen
Photo Source: Flickr “IMG_1505.jpg” by AFS-USA Intercultural Programs

6. “Other than concerns about bullying
and underage sexting, it’s becoming
increasingly clear
that Snapchat
messages, once
thought to be
super secure
because
of their
extremely
short
lifespan,
are not
quite as
fleeting as
Previously
believed”
-MosbergenPhoto Source: Flickr, “Snapchat logo on iPhone“ by Barn Images

7. Photo Source: Pixabay, No title by Life-Of-Pix

8. Photo Source: Flickr, “Sneaking out” by Marcel Oosterwijk
“Snapchat allows you to take
screenshots of the photos your
friends send to you, but it informs
the sender that you’ve done so.
With Snaphack, you can save
those photos and videos
without anyone
knowing.”
-Kleinman

9. Photo Source: Flickr, “Bank vault, Royal Bank of Canada, 1730 Jane Street, north of Lawrence Avenue West“ by Toronto History
“Nowadays, there
are several apps
available for keeping
sexts secret, many of
them are free and
users aren’t really
shy about searching
for them. So-called
vault apps have
been around at least
since Snapchat’s
popularity began to
rise in 2012, and
they have offered a
sophisticated suite of
privacy tools for
about as long.”
-Rogers

10. Photo Source: Pixabay, No Title by milivinaly
“Many are
hesitant to take
and share photos
of themselves, for
fear of looking
vain, vulnerable
or being
scrutinized.”
“Self-image is
important, and
not always in a
narcissistic way.
It's how we
define
ourselves, and
present for
others to see.
We rely on
others'
perceptions,
judgments and
appraisals to
develop our
social self.”
-Erickson

11. Photo Source: Pixabay, No Title by RyanMcGuire
“According to author
Nancy Jo Sales, for
teen girls there is
“widespread
demands for nude
photos, sometimes
by a crush or
boyfriend, but often
just from a random
guy at school”
“whenever you have a
situation in which people
are dehumanized, women
and girls suffer more. We
are already more
objectified. It becomes
easier [for boys] to see
someone as a thing, rather
than a person.”
-Dawson

12. Photo Source: Flickr, “Pro Juventute Aufklärungskampagne ‚Sexting’ Themenbild_09“ by Pro Juventute
Sales points out that an aspect of teen culture is “slut
pages, where nude photos of a girl, originally sent to
one boy, are distributed to others — i.e., a sexting ring
— and then posted on Instagram accounts for
everyone to view and comment on, often dismissively.
This is typically followed by a kind of schoolwide
shaming (of the girl — never the boy)”
Another aspect is “revenge porn: When a couple
breaks up and the boy passes around nude photos the
girl sent him in confidence.” - Dawson

13. “Based on interviews with
families, [author Alexandra
Samuel] determines that those
who limit technology, as
opposed to those who “mentor”
their children’s technology use
are more successful in teaching
their children how to navigate
the online world. The children of
“limiters” are “twice as likely as
the children of mentors to
access porn or to post rude or
hostile comments online.”
-Riley
Photo Source: Pixabay, No Title by PublicDomainPictures

14. Photo Source: Pixabay, No Title By geralt
“Kids just don’t get when you
share this with one person
you’ve lost all control.”
- Riley
Once incriminating
images have been
posted to the
internet, a
digital footprint has
been created
and can prevent
people from being
accepted into schools or
becoming employed.

15. “We’ve known for years that the Web allows for unprecedented
voyeurism, exhibitionism and inadvertent indiscretion, but we
are only beginning to understand the costs of an
age in which so much of what we say,
and of what others say about
us, goes into our permanent
— and public —
digital files.”
-Rosen
Photo Source: Pixabay, No Title by OpenClipartVectors

16. Photo Source: Flickr, “graduation caps“ by John Walker
“30 percent of the admissions
officers said they had discovered
information online that had
negatively affected an applicant's
prospects.
Students' social media and digital
footprint can sometimes play a role
in the admissions process” -Singer

17. Photo Source: Pixabay, No Title by edar
“According to a recent
survey by Microsoft, 75
percent of U.S. recruiters
and human-resource
professionals report that
their companies require
them to do online research
about candidates, and many
use a range of sites when
scrutinizing applicants”
-Rosen

18. Photo Source: Flickr, “graduation caps“ by John Walker
“Job seekers need to clean up their social media presence,
or risk potential bad results.” -Bowness

19. Photo Source: Pixabay, No Title by MIH83
“Snapchat [as it's intended to be used] is a reminder that
constraints have a social purpose, that there is beauty in
simplicity, and that the ephemeral is valuable” -Boyd
Snapchat is one of the only social networking platforms that
is designed to leave no digital footprint, however it is not
impossible and just like with all digital footprints, there can be
repercussions.

20. Works Cited
Bowness, Suzanne. "Five Ways To Be A Smart Social Media User In Your Job Hunt". The Globe and Mail. N.p.,
2013. Web. 5 June 2016.
Boyd, Danah. "Why Snapchat Is Valuable: It's All About Attention". Linkedin. N.p., 2014. Web. 5 June 2016.
Dawson, Mackenzie. "How Social Media Is Destroying The Lives Of Teen Girls". New York Post. N.p., 2016. Web.
5 June 2016.
Erickson, Christine. "The Social Psychology Of The Selfie". Mashable. N.p., 2013. Web. 5 June 2016.
Kleinman, Alexis. "Uh-Oh: New App Secretly Saves Snapchats". The Huffington Post. N.p., 2013. Web. 5 June
2016.
Mosbergen, Dominique. "Why Snapchat Sexting May Be A Terrible Idea". The Huffington Post. N.p., 2013. Web.
5 June 2016.
Riley, Naomi Schaefer. "Parents Should Not Give Up Trying To Police Kids Sexting". New York Post. N.p., 2015.
Web. 5 June 2016.
Rogers, Katie. "The Vault Apps That Keep Sexts A Secret". Nytimes.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 5 June 2016.
Rosen, Jeffrey. "The Web Means The End Of Forgetting - Nytimes.Com". Nytimes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 5 June
2016.
Singer, Natasha. "They Loved Your G.P.A. Then They Saw Your Tweets". The New York Times (2013): n. pag.
Print.
Whitehouse, Kaja. "Snapchat Sexting Scandal Could Scare Off Investors". New York Post. N.p., 2013. Web. 5
June 2016.