By: Noa Gardner
I really did not like Snapchat when it first came out. It seemed ridiculous to me to send ugly selfies back and forth with your friends. Honestly, it was exhausting to take a decent picture of myself just to respond to some inane question. I think the thing I found the most frustrating was that they were no established rules for this new app because, as we all know, there is strict social media etiquette that must be followed.
Take texting for example. Do not double text, read receipts are weird, and do not respond too quickly to your crush – they might think you are clingy and therefore unattractive. And with texting, there is also a way to communicate what you want without saying what you really want to say. For instance, if a guy texting you at 1:42 a.m. asks what you’re doing at the moment and if you want to come over and watch House of Cards, then we all know that he’s really trying to (insert sex euphemism here).
And every guy has experienced this: you text a girl asking to hang out and she comes out with excuse after excuse all to the effect of “I’m busy.” It is her hope that you eventually get the hint. This strategy of communication, as opposed to “ghosting” you, highlights her high moral integrity, but at the same time also tells you that she isn’t brave enough to tell you flat out that she isn’t interested.
These are all clever ways to communicate with the opposite sex while at the same time maintaining a level of decorum and respect for the societal rules that exist in this social media culture.
But Snapchat is different because it flouts the rules established in the text messaging culture, and therefore makes it a very useful tool for men when it comes to dating. The rules established in Snapchat culture- at least at this point in the app’s adolescence- are too fluid to have any real consistency across its users, and this is where men can use it to their best advantage. Snapchat allows you to show the woman you want to woo that you are cool and that you have a social life, that you can party and rage face, but also you love your dog. You can show them that you don’t take yourself too seriously and you’re brave enough to send them an ugly crossed-eyed picture of yourself.
How about those built-in read receipts? We can see when they have opened a snap, and how long they took to snap you back. This is all crucial information. You can even text on Snapchat, and there is no stigma of double, triple, or even quadruple texting. And before the newest update, you could see the top three friends someone was Snapchatting, known as their top friends. Who is snapping who? And why is she snapping him and not snapping you?
Dating has always been hard, but dating in the technology/media-driven world of today has made it even harder. However, Snapchat, when looked at as more than just an app can be used as a powerful modern dating tool- if used correctly.
Use it wisely, friends.