Snapchat culture has transformed the way people communicate and has affected how people build relationships. Traditionally, building structured relationships involved spending time together, having meaningful conversations, and getting to know someone’s personality. Now, “snapping” has introduced the beginning of talking stages that sabotage building strong relationships. 

Phrases like “what do you look like” (WYLL) typically begin the talking stage in “snapping.” Instead of spending time getting to know someone, people text or snap someone with phrases. The biggest impact of snap culture is the quality of relationships. When talking stages are built off of quick snaps and abbreviated questions, there’s less of an opportunity to actually get to know each other and build a relationship. 

A positive to snap culture is that it allows people to stay in touch easily and constantly. It also can be used as a starting point for deeper conversation rather than a replacement for them. One still has to consider how “snapping” affects expectations. The fast paced nature of Snapchat creates pressure to respond quickly. 

Snap culture has changed communication by making it more instant and attainable, it has also introduced challenges to the way relationships are formed and maintained. To promote meaningful relationships, it’s important to go beyond these surface-level interactions and get to know each other.