Social Media Photography: Snapchat 10-Second Images by Amanda Leigh
1 Second: Snapchat #Notes
Instead of passing notes in class, you send your friend a Snapchat image, mobile to mobile. By time your teacher interrogates you, the note has disappeared. You insist, “I wasn’t texting: I was only using my calculator.” Your teacher replies, “Weird that you use your calculator in English class.” As a rule, she only calls you out on this one time per class, and ignores the other twenty Snapchats you send within the hour. Favorite Snapchats this hour: 10-second Snapchat of the clock, with the second hand slowly ticking by, and 6-second Snapchat of best friend trying to stay awake during lecture. #DisappearsInSeconds
2 Seconds: Snapchat #Kisses
A lonely night on Twitter and all you want is a good-night kiss. Ask your followers to Snapchat you a kiss. You might be surprised at what you get. After all you don’t even know your followers’ real names, ages, genders or sexual orientations. I guess it doesn’t matter as long as you aren’t too judgmental. Although these are temporary kisses, just to hold you over for the night, you might want to save some for later. Hurry and take a screenshot of the images as fast as you can. Make a picture collage of all your #TwitterLove.
3 Seconds: Snapchat #Sexting
Beware of sexting while drunk. Just because it’s over in ten seconds doesn’t mean it’s a safe bet. Images pass fast through social media, from Snapchat to Twitter to Tumblr to Facebook. Then all of a sudden your boss and your co-workers have a picture of your penis on their laptops or Smartphones. Who cares if half the team has already seen your super powers and the other half still wants to. That’s not the point. The point is that you want to be in charge of who views your Snapchats – don’t give your trolls, stalkers or archenemies the power to control you. #NotSoSexy
4 Seconds: Snapchat #SexSpam
Nothing sexy about sex and spam – in fact it can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Maybe you enjoy a full-figured woman with a sandwich made in between her jumbo-size buns; but different people have different tastes. Even a temporary 10-second image permanently scars an impressionable young mind. The image disappears but the impact lasts a lifetime. Easy to say just don’t open it – but who knows what’s behind the screen. Maybe it’s something you absolutely must see. #TooTempting but #DontOpenIt!
5 Seconds: Snapchat #Warnings
#Hilarious! Snapchat.com issues an advisory to users about graphic content, nudity, sexting, profanity and other general vulgarities epidemic in social media. #NewsFlash Snapchat – all your users have been on the internet 10 times as long as your product and 2 times as long as your thirty-something hipsters. Your target audience creates all this content you warn about. Funny that the advertised age for Snapchat is 17+ when the ideal age to explore social media platforms seems to be about 13.
6 Seconds: Snapchat #Trolls
Does everyone on social media have a handful of trolls? Or is that just a myth? Think about it. It’s kind of nice to have a few trolls who read every single tweet you post on Twitter, follow you on Tumblr and like all your Facebook photos. Who else loves all your Instagrams instantly? Snapchat offers pros and cons for trolls. #ProsForTrolls – if they troll you every single second they don’t even need the full 10-seconds to catch your Snapchat and freeze it in a screenshot. #ConsForTrolls – they only have access to your Snapchats shared through other social media, not those you send directly mobile to mobile.
7 Seconds: Snapchat #Stalkers
Can you even imagine being a contemporary stalker who is not tech savvy? The modern day stalker perfects both his – or her – social media and hacking skills. If your stalker gains access to your email, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and other social media accounts, why should Snapchat be off-limits? Sure the 10-second maximum is torture but most stalkers don’t mind a challenge. Snapchat offers pros and cons for stalkers too. #ProsForStalkers – background details in the Snapchat image give away your exact location. #ConsForStalkers – they only have 10 seconds to figure out where you are. On the other hand, if your stalker has your mobile number or access to all your social media accounts, he or she can send you some fun Snapchats – by your window, at your car, inside your house. #Madonna A Snapchat disappears in seconds but the anticipation never does.
8 Seconds: Snapchat #Murder #Suicide
Suicidal Snapchats instantly scare the sh*t out of your captivate audience. After all, you choose who to send the Snapchat to – mobile to mobile or through other social media platforms. You control who can open it. You set the timer and decide how many different images to send: 2-second image of a razor blade, 2-second image of a white tile sink, 2-second image of blood drops on the white tile, 2-second image of a cut wrist, 2-second image of the word “HELP.” 10 seconds of terror sent in 5 Snapchats. Imagine the fun images that a murder/suicide inspires. As with all social media, you know some #TorturedSouls use Snapchat to gain maximum attention.
9 Seconds: Snapchat #CrimeSpree
#BreakingNews Criminal snapchats himself robbing a bank – then sends it to the police to taunt them. Bank robber returns to rob the same bank three different times. He takes the same selfy at the same spot near the vault each time. This final time, police send him their own Snapchats back instantly: 6-second image of his vehicle license plate, 4-second image of his driver’s license picture, 2-second image of the police squad as they surround the bank. His biggest mistake – stops to check Snapchat as he robs the bank. #StupidCriminal or #WantsToGetCaught!
10 seconds: Snapchat #LifeSpan
Snapchat images theoretically disappear in a matter of seconds, from 1 to 10. Snapchat’s creators expected a Snapchat to reach its maximum lifespan and then simply to expire, to vanish, to disappear. Snapchat apps include technology to prevent saving a Snapchat on your phone or computer. But you can simply take a shot of the Snapchat image on the screen with other software. The idea of disappearing Snapchats encourages many users to take spontaneous, uncensored selfies and share them freely without concern. In reality the images don’t always disappear.
Once you capture a #SnapchatScreenshot, the image lasts forever – on your phone, your computer, your social media accounts and potentially any social media platform throughout the world. It takes a lifetime to see if your Snapchats reappear.
Photo credit (in order top to bottom): technologystory.com, Mike Paterson, Eltpics, Daelynn Busch, Daelynn Busch, Snapchatted.com, ehotmusic.blogspot.com, snapchatted.com, Venturebeat, Shuttle stock, @violentacrez, Rex via madonnafansworld.over-blog.com, Rex via madonnafansworld.over-blog.com, turbosquid.com, Raisa Photography, cinemateaser.com, sofiaecho.com, The Verge, beccaxanne08
Tags: Journal