App # 1-Snapchat
Snapchat is an app that allows users to interact with one another by sending text messages, pictures, as well as videos, to other users that “disappear” after a certain amount of time. “Snapchat is a mobile app that allows users to send and receive "self-destructing" photos and videos. Photos and videos were taken with the app are called snaps. Snapchat uses the device's camera to capture snaps and Wi-Fi technology to send them” (McLaughlin, 2016). Snapchat or known as “snap” allows users to insert text or draw on the snaps that are being sent. The user can also set how many seconds that the snap lasts (between 1 and 10 seconds) when sent to the recipient before it disappears from the recipient’s Snapchat account. When messages are sent in the app, they can only be viewed once and has to be seen within a certain window of time.
Snapchat is a social media platform that can be good form of communication between friends, however, the app still has a downside or warnings that should be looked at as well. A major warning for Snapchat is that the app does not save pictures and messages that have been sent. This can be a major concern for youth and adults as well that provocative photos and messages can be shared without the thought of the picture or text being saved to a social media platform for everyone to see. This can make it difficult for messages to be monitored by parents or guardians to track their child’s interactions and friends. Users can use the app for “sexting”, which is sending sexual picture text to another user. Youth have begun to send increased “sext” to one another while using this app. According to a study that was completed, 1 in 4 youth are receiving sext and 1 in 7 youth are sending sexts. “A recent synthesis of the prevalence of sexting in 39 studies comprising more than 110 000 youth reveals that 1 in 4 youth are receiving sexts and 1 in 7 are sending sexts. The prevalence of youth sexting is also reportedly on an upward trend, a finding commensurate with the rapid rise in rates of smartphone ownership, with 95% of teens in 2018 owning mobile phones compared with 71% 10 years ago” (Mori, Temple, Browne, & Madigan, 2019). With this thought in mind, youth can think because the message will disappear within a certain amount of time, the receiver can still take a screenshot of the picture, which is saving the photo or entire screen to their device. When this happens, the picture can be shared with others that were not the intended recipient of the picture.
To make sure students stay safe while using this application as well as teachers being able to use the app for lessons, safety concerns and information should be shared prior to using the app. Teachers can discuss internet safety and how the app can be used appropriately. The app can be used in the classroom to post different pictures and videos that can allow the teacher to summarize a lesson from the day as a second push to help the students remember the information. Teachers can also use this application to share real examples of the information being taught while being in the community. A study was completed that surveyed students in a chemistry class that used Snapchat to re-iterate the information that was taught in a lesson and many of the students believed that using Snap helped them remember more information. “with a 43% response rate, students overwhelmingly agreed that they feel more engaged with chemistry through using Snapchat in this manner (4.32/5.00) and together with it being a useful tool to contextualize their knowledge in chemistry in the real world and their degree program (4.32/5.00). As such, instructors using Snapchat in this way could enhance student engagement with chemistry together with facilitating the ability of students to understand how chemistry can be applied to affect their daily lives” (Hurst,2018). Snapchat has a negative side like any other app, but when thought of from a positive standpoint, the app can be beneficial to helping students understand information.
App # 2-Instagram
Instagram is a social networking app that is very visual with people sharing pictures and videos with a brief explanation or description of the video or photo. When the app is opened, the user will be at the main feed that will show other users that you have connected with recent posts. This app is common for children and adults alike to have a visual timeline of their life and adventures.
Instagram is a wonderful way for people to stay in contact with one another as well as get to know other people who may be seen as influencers or famous. The app can be harmful when youth and young adults begin to compare themselves to the people they see on social media platforms. Youth are beginning to develop more body image issues and want to look like the people they see on social media. Another concern is the amount of time that youth spend on the app and begin to miss out on opportunities to build and develop their face-to-face social interactions. “Facebook’s internal studies, published by The Wall Street Journal in September, point to how the app may harm teens, including worsening body image concerns for 1 in 3 teenage girls, but that data is correlational and self-reported. More than a billion people use Instagram, spending an estimated average of 30 minutes per day on the image-heavy platform” (Abrams,2021). With the use of likes and comments, people will post and look at their views and comments and compare themselves to people they may or may not know. When this happens youth can look at themselves as less than or want to look like other people who look more appealing to themselves.
While Instagram can be as dangerous or raise questions from youth, it is an app that can be used and seen in a positive light. Teachers can set up class pages and post information that only students and their parents can see. Teachers and parents can communicate, and teachers can post photos of activities the students are working on in class or upcoming events. “Your class is never boring, so remind your students and show their parents all the fun you are having on a regular basis by posting pictures. If the students complete a cool activity or go on a field trip, you can use Instagram to capture these memories” (Lynch,2018). If the app is shown through school in a positive light, students may see the positive in using the app and not the comparison of other people.
www.instagram.com
App # 3-KIK
Kik is an instant messenger application that is predominantly used by teenagers and young adults. This app can connect family members and friends by looking up their usernames, a Kik code or finding people based on the contacts in your address book. Kik sends and receives messages through Wi-fi or mobile data. Unlike apps like WhatsApp, Kik allows users to send multimedia items including photos, GIFs, and emojis, users are also able to create live videos as well.
Like other social media apps, Kik has warnings as well for parents and educators. Kik has been shut down since 2019. When the app was active and prevalent, there were many concerns about teenagers’ safety and who they were communicating with through the app. The app allowed the users to stay anonymous while interacting with others on the app. “ Connecting with strangers online isn’t anything new. But what makes Kik unique is the anonymous nature of the app. The app asks the user for their real name and email but works with a fake name and does not require a phone number. Essentially, users who can be whoever they want” (Daniels, 2016). This was allowing users to communicate without the use of real names or phone numbers and the information that was being shared was not being tracked by Kik. With this in mind, it made it difficult for law enforcement and parents to track the information that was being shared.
Safeguards that can be put into place while using Kik is to only chat with people that are known. Personal information should not be shared with other users while using the app. “we don’t recommend sharing personal information with them, like your address, phone number, or password. Additionally, on Kik (and with all your other social media and chat apps) it's possible for someone to send you a link that can be used to collect your personal information. If you're sent a link that you don't recognize, do not click on it, and if you do, make sure not to enter any of your personal information on the site” (Kik, 2017). The app can be used appropriately for teenagers to talk to their friends when used and moderated by adults.
http://wwwl.kik.com/
App # 4-Houseparty
Houseparty is an app that uses video-chat to connect the user with up to 8 other people at a time. The app, which is popular with teenagers is like Skype or Facebook Live where the user can begin a video for users to view or join them on the call. The app is free to download and has the same idea as going to a party at someone’s house. The app allows you to chat with other people who are there and join your chat. When the app is being used, other friends of the user will be alerted that the person has invited them to video chat with them. Users can see who is chatting and join different rooms based on who is in each room.
Houseparty can be a great app that can be used by teenagers and families as well to stay connected and see one another. However, the app can have negatives and warnings that come with using the app. People that are unknown to the user can be added to the houseparty if they are the friend of a friend and can join the conversation. If a person is not in the users contact list, the user gets a warning of possible “Stranger Danger” but can still be added to the chat by the user. The app does not have many negatives, but as the app grows in popularity, it can open itself up to more safety concerns. “Currently, there have been no major privacy issues with Houseparty although a few concerns have been raised. However, this may change as the app gains popularity and the risk of data breaches heighten. These issues have affected many other social applications and Houseparty are unlikely to avoid them going forward (Houseparty, 2020). The app in a large picture aspect does not seem to have many concerns which could make the app a good one to use in education.
This app could easily be used in education to allow students and their teachers to interact or as a reinforcer for positive behavior or end of the week celebration. Since the app has games and activities that students to complete together, this app would help reinforce specific rules and behaviors that are expected within the classroom. Students can play on teams and play games that are similar to Pictionary and the game Heads Up. “The app lets users play many games together while they are talking and chatting, games such as heads up, trivia, chips, and quick draw. The best bit is that you don’t have to download these games separately. Houseparty has these games in-built” (Chakravarti,2020). The app would also allow for the teacher to set up the groups and moderate the information that is being talked about or the activities the students are completing. This app allows for users to stay in contact even when they are not in school, they can have the same interactions with their peers and teachers to keep their socializations.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/10/houseparty-is-over-video-app-that-boomed-in-lockdown-meets-its-end
App # 5-Discord
Discord is a platform where people who have similar interests can share and communicate with one another. This app is popular for members of the gaming community as it can be used for gamers to play a game and show the game they are playing at the same time. This allows the users to communicate with one another and help them to find a community of people that are similar to them to allow them to interact with one another outside of the game itself. The platforms use servers that allow the users to set their accounts based on specific focuses or themes to help them find a community of people who have a common interest. Users are able to meet online and share pictures, links and other information with one another. Users can use text or their microphones to interact.
Discord is a great platform for people to meet and interact with other people who have similar interests as themselves. There are warnings of using the platform as well. Discord has concerns when it comes to being able to moderate the content and information that is being shared through the platform. The platform uses real time communication and the information that is being shared disappears after the video has stopped. This can be concerning because members can join the discord that are not friends with the person who is making the video. “Still, it's possible for minors to connect with people they don't know on public servers or in private chats if the stranger was invited by someone else in the room or if the channel link is dropped into a public group that the user accessed. By default, all users -- including users ages 13 to 17 -- can receive friend invitations from anyone in the same server, which then opens up the ability for them to send private messages” (Kelly, 2022).
Discord can be used in the classroom to help promote the platform in a positive light and to help inform students. Discord can allow teachers to teach the class virtually with the students being able to join the video and discuss information with their teacher. Educators are able to share their screen and information with the students as well as walk the students through specific lessons and give them real-world examples of solving specific problems. The use of live-asynchronous flexibility allows for students to discuss things without having to post replies or post discussion boards to keep the students engaged in the information. “Discord's GoLife mode allows you to display a specific program or screen in real time, and all registered users with defined access and installed Discord software can connect to this broadcast. Thus, we managed to create conditions for a quality process of conducting classes, which fully allowed to reproduce the usual format of classes” (Kruglyk & Bukreiev, 2020).
https://discord.com/