Over 35 and wondering what Snapchat is? Read this blog and figure out for yourself if you should hit the download button.
I told my friend, Rupert, that I added Snapchat to my social media repertoire and his first question was, “Isn’t that where kids would send d*ck pics?” I felt a bit naive not knowing Snapchat’s dubious past but in my defense, I (fortunately) missed the trend of sending photos of genitalia as part of courtship.
The answer Rupert, is no, it’s not a place to send *those* pictures.
Now that we’ve established what Snapchat is not, what is it and what’s in it for midlifers?
Snapchat is not useful but it is an amusing social media platform. Its biggest draw for me is that I have to intentionally save things which means it doesn’t fill up my phone’s memory like WhatsApp or Facebook. Whatever you post stays for 24 hours and then it disappears into the abyss. You can even determine how many seconds people can take a look at a certain pic from 1 second to however long they like. Receive a photo via chat? The photo gets deleted as soon as you open it. It is a platform where one develops an appreciation for the ephemeral.
I heard about Snapchat when my Facebook feed started filling up with women in their 30s/40s wearing a crown of flowers. What the hell was that about? While I’m not a fan of the flower trend, I think Snapchat filters are a revelation. You can take videos/photos of your family as random animals or you can also use it to spice up politics. They were pretty popular during the French elections.
“Stories” is another function that Snapchat popularized although many others – Facebook’s ‘My Day’, Instagram Stories – have something similar now. It allows you to put together slideshows (mix of video and photos) that become a narrative. Snapchat arranges the photos automatically according to when and where they were taken, making it ideal for travel. A bonus: Snapchat provides location stickers (geofilters) that make your photos more interesting. Kind of like an online scrapbook. Then once you finish your ‘story’, you can download it and send to friends and family through text or other social media platforms.
In sum, Snapchat is not for everyone but don’t dismiss it as juvenile right away. You might find it enjoyable. I, for one, certainly enjoyed the video below of my toddler spouting rainbows. And I’m leaving it here for good vibes and inspiration ;).
Midlife Space 
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