In a recent New York Times article,  Snapchat’s co-founder, Evan Spiegel wrote, “There is real value in sharing moments that don’t live forever.”

After the social media app came out, I personally thought the idea was dumb and that it wouldn’t work. However, after downloading it and after the sudden flash of it becoming one of the most popular social media sites in the world, my opinion changed.

Snapchat has the power to share some of life’s most precious moments with friends and family, while at the same time it takes away the overwhelming factor of anyone being able to see those pictures or videos forever. However, most people who use the app have been consumed by it. Everything is about “taking selfies” to let people know where you are, what you’re doing, and who you’re with.

“I think Snapchat is problematic because individuals can share what they’re doing in real time immediately, and it reinforces this idea that kids have to constantly show people that they’re out having fun doing something with others. People have this perception that since you can only view the picture or video for a few seconds, that’s it’s more private that it actually is, which is a big problem,” said psychology teacher Lauren Flahive.

People have come to think that they can document every second of their everyday lives, and the App is no longer about communicating. If something interesting happens and it isn’t caught on video, people have even come to the point where they will try to reenact it just to show everyone how “cool” it was. “If you didn’t have on Snapchat, did it really even happen?”

Before Snapchat started the display of a “My Story,” it was a more private way to talk to someone one on one, and if you got a Snapchat from someone, it was more personal then just texting because you actually can see them or hear their voice. Now, people want to update their stories to prove  that they hung out with a certain group of people or did a specific thing.

“Snapchat has started to take over texting and Facetime for me. People in the halls will even stop and take pictures and videos for Snapchat putting it before schoolwork and all,” says junior Selma Sabovic.

Although I have been absorbed in the Snapchat craze myself, I do realize how consuming it is, and how it could effect someone’s life. As good as of an idea the App was, I think it is very important for people to make sure they limit themselves to how many selfies they take,how many videos they post, and how many times they put “showing off to the world” before more important things.