Written by: Abbey Grace Green  Edited by: Megan Montgomery

My iPhone is constantly lighting up with Snapchat notifications for a group chat called Fathers and Sons. This group chat includes three of my best girlfriends and myself.

Why Fathers and Sons?  These girls are my family and we take care of each other as fathers and sons do. Snapchat is the best way for us to keep in touch, as we all go to different colleges and are miles apart.

In the group chat, we share our successes and our struggles throughout the day. Whether it is a bombed exam or a family member in the hospital, the group chat has all the details. Amber and I used Fathers and Sons to ask Georgi and Savannah if we should buy those sunglasses pictured above for graduation. Spoiler–the answer was yes.

This desire to stay connected is common for high school graduates going their separate ways. Usually, the people you graduate with have been a part of your life for a long time. They have gone through life experiences and highs and lows with you.

My best friend Amber, (second from the left) and I have known each other since the first-grade. We have pictures of us together dressed up like elves during Christmas-time at our elementary school. Now, we have pictures of us on our senior trip around our dorm rooms.

During senior year, we rode to school together and to work together every day. We had first period and homeroom together. Every weekend we had sleepovers with Georgi (far left) and Savannah (far right). Saying goodbye was hard and tears were shed, but we promised we would keep in touch, and Snapchat has been a great tool for that.

Snapchat is often stereotyped as a platform for self-obsessed teens to snap selfies back and forth. But the application is much more than that. Snapchat is useful for relationship development. In a 2015 study, communication researcher, Joseph Bayer, and his colleagues examined how Snapchat is perceived and used. In their first study, they proposed an important question: when it comes to supportiveness and enjoyableness how does Snapchat compare to other interactive social platforms?

In order to find answers to these questions, the researchers conducted a quantitative study through the use of questionnaires. The study used initial questionnaires, 14 days of journaling and a final questionnaire to examine Snapchat interactions quantitatively.

From their study, Bayer and his colleagues were able to find answers to their questions. First, they found that participants ranked Snapchat above texting, email, and Facebook for the pleasurability of the interaction. However, the participants found that face-to-face interactions were more pleasurable than Snapchat.

For my friend group, Snapchat is the perfect way to communicate. We find it to be more enjoyable than texting, email, and Facebook, similar to the study’s participants. We have no group texts and rarely text each other individually. Since we can record videos on Snapchat that is how we choose to rant, tell stories and more. We all have different and busy schedules so, it is nice to be able to watch each other’s videos on our own time.

For the second part of the researcher’s study, they looked at content and contacts on Snapchat. What were the participants snapping pictures of? And were the participants snapping just their closest friends, or acquaintances too?

In order for the researchers to find answers to their questions, they conducted a second study. The second study consisted of in-depth interviews, with 28 participants from the first study. The researchers interviewed the participants about who they sent Snapchats to, who they received Snapchats from and what were they snapping pictures or chats about.

In the end, the researchers found that the participants mainly used their Snapchats to share quick moments of their days. Their snaps provided a window into their lives. In addition, they found that participants typically saw Snapchat as a form of messaging rather than an app for photo sharing.

So, who were the participants sending their daily snaps to? Participants mostly interacted with their inner circle and used Snapchat to check in with their inner circle throughout the day. These contacts knew more about the Sender and who they were as a person. Similar, to how my friend group uses Fathers and Sons throughout the day. That group consists of my strong ties, and content I send them, other weaker ties may not understand as well.

Snapchat is used for the smaller moments in life. For sending pictures of a pretty fall tree you see outside to your friend or a cute puppy you saw on your walk to class.

In order to see how living without Snapchat would affect my communication, I participated in a 72-hour phone cleanse. For three days, I could not use my phone to text, video chat or use social media. I was, however, able to make phone calls.

During the cleanse I found my experience to be similar to the participants’ experiences from the study. The participants had reported enjoying face-to-face interactions more than ones that took place over the phone. During my time at Belmont, I have kept in touch with all my friends and family back home through phone intermediated channels. But, after going home, I realized phones cannot offer what face-to-face communication can.

For example, I find myself multitasking when I am communicating with my friends and family through the phone. However, when I was communicating with them face to face, I could focus on listening to them and being present in the moment. Another advantage I saw was that face-to-face communication offers the ability to communicate through touch. When I was home, I was able to hug my friends and family which is something technology is not able to offer.

Do not get me wrong, the cleanse was challenging. To avoid the temptation that was constantly lurking I eventually deleted my apps. And when I redownloaded them, I did not bother trying to catch up with the Father and Sons chat. There were so many videos it was overwhelming.

While face-to-face is my favorite form of communication, I am grateful for applications like Snapchat that allow me to communicate with others that are hours away. These apps have allowed me to continue my relationships with Savannah, Georgi, and Amber during my time at Belmont. I believe that Snapchat will continue to be a useful tool for us in maintaining our friendship.