In September 2015, 18-year-old Christal McGee was driving on Tara Boulevard in Atlanta, Georgia when she crashed into the car of Wentworth Maynard, who had just pulled out of his driveway. The cause? McGee was trying to take a Snapchat that would use the app’s speedometer feature to showcase that she was driving more than 100 miles per hour—on a street with a speed limit of 55 mph.
McGee caused injury to herself as well as the three passengers in her car. Even worse, Maynard suffered permanent brain damage.
Now, in the aftermath of the crime, Maynard is suing Snapchat because of its speedometer filter, claiming the app encourages reckless, distracted driving.
While the event was undoubtedly tragic, I feel as if we’re jumping too far to conclusions on this case. I do believe that the millennial generation oftentimes appears to be too entrenched in social media—insofar as it neglects to experience the real world around it, which unfortunately includes serious situations like driving—but I personally cannot contend that apps like Snapchat encourage reckless driving or behavior in any way.
When it boils down to it, the bottom line stands firm: you make your choices. Social media apps do nothing to force your hand, your finger, or your phone.
This claim is evident in the way McGee chose to endanger the lives of those in her car and all around her when she willingly took out her phone, attempted to take a picture, took her eyes off the road, and broke a speeding law significantly. Those were her choices—not Snapchat’s. In this way, McGee clearly represents a proportion of the population who appears to be more entrenched in themselves and their online representation. In the aftermath of the accident, McGee still took to Snapchat to document the event: “Lucky to be alive,” announces her selfie as she is back-boarded out of her car.
In this scenario, McGee is clearly more at fault than the app she chose to use. This horrible situation is clearly more representative of her compulsion to use the app than it is of the app’s physical ability to make someone act. It’s representative of an emerging online generation; while in some cases this is a strength, it has now been represented in the weakest of forms by one act of intensely poor judgment.
The creators of Snapchat’s speedometer filter did not create it with the intention to encourage distracted driving, yet they face repercussions despite the inclusion of a warning message in the Snapchat application that reads, “Do NOT Snap and drive.” In the lawsuit of Snapchat, Maynard and his associates held that Snapchat promoted McGee’s behavior by offering in-app awards and “trophies” for certain Snapchat accomplishments. However, no trophies are related to the speedometer filter.
In the aftermath of this event, I feel the lawsuit fails to make a sufficient claim against the app it’s targeting. Personally, I see the speedometer tag as a unique feature of the app that allows people to document events as the passengers of an interesting event: on a boat, in a plane, or stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The app itself, however, does nothing to promote behavior like McGee’s.
Whether or not the modern generation of youths is too dependent on apps like Snapchat and other social media and its portrayal of image and status, however, is a unique kind of story (no Snapchat pun intended). For now, I think it’s best to remember we as a generation need to unplug and detach ourselves from this online obsession from time to time—especially when it impacts safety. Stay safe out there, and remember: in the end, you are responsible for the choices you make with the tools you’re given. Please choose wisely.