Snapchat in the Classroom

There were a few items stood out to me from the Dennen, Rutledge,

Bagdy, Rowlett, Burnick and Joyce (2017). I was pleased to read that

Snapchat was the most used app. I really enjoy this app and I have been

trying to figure out ways to incorporate it into my classroom lessons. I

would like to create a channel for my class. I have not done formal

research, but in what I have read and observed, students of this generation

like to read headlines and see quick clips to get their information. I operate

in a similar manner in that I rely on Snapchat and CNN alerts to keep me

informed. I also found the point about social media serving as an informal

background check before students pursued other students. I think this

offers support for the online dating community and presents a benefit of

meeting someone online before you meet them in person. I was most

fascinated by the concept of context collapse. I never considered this

before, but it was so relatable after reading about it. It also affects the way I

conduct myself on social media. As a student and teacher, I hear and

preach the importance of keeping public social media accounts

appropriate as potential employers may check them out when you are

interviewing for a job. I can’t remember once talking about the presence

of multiple of my circles in one “place”. This definitely is something I

consider when choosing pictures and captions to post on Facebook.

Unlike the students, I do experience context collapse on this platform,

which may be indicative of my age. However, on my Snapchat, I do not

have such a mix of “friends” and similar to the students in the study, I

post content to Snapchat that I want to share with a small group of my

friends and my network does not include family or co

workers/employers. I found it funny that students did not want their

family to follow them on social media because they were worried about

them posting embarrassing things. In my case, I’m more worried about

my family seeing something I do not want them to. I also found the

comment by the one student who wished her family followed her to get

to know her better very interesting. As I mentioned in my last blog post,

I do think that people may share more of their true selves (as well as

their imaginary/perfect selves) online than they always do in person. I

also found that comment sad that she felt more comfortable expressing

herself through the internet than in person, though I do think many

people feel that way, especially when it comes to controversial topics

like politics.