"What do they snapchat about?" Patterns of use in time-limited instant messaging service

Piwek, Lukasz; Joinson, Adam

Abstract

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. The use of Snapchat - a time-limited instant messaging service - has been rapidly rising amongst adolescents. However, the exact nature of Snapchat use remains difficult to examine due to the self-destructive nature of content sent and received via this service. We report an online survey conducted with the use of a memory sampling method to enquire about the specific details of the very last image or video each participant sent and received via Snapchat. We found that users mainly share 'selfies', typically embed text and 'doodles' with photos they share, use it mostly at home, and primarily for communication with close friends and family as an 'easier and funnier' alternative to other instant messaging services. We also found that high intensity of Snapchat use was more associated with bonding rather than bridging social capital. We discuss those findings in the context of existing studies on the use of instant messaging services and social networking sites.

Citation

Piwek, L., & Joinson, A. (2016). "What do they snapchat about?" Patterns of use in time-limited instant messaging service. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 358-367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.026

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 1, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Aug 23, 2015
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Dec 11, 2019
• Journal: Computers in Human Behavior
• Print ISSN: 0747-5632
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 54
• Pages: 358-367
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.026
• Keywords: Instant messaging (IM); Social network sites; Snapchat; Critical incidence technique; Social capital
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/4816904
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: “What do they snapchat about?” Patterns of use in time-limited instant messaging service; Journal Title: Computers in Human Behavior; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.026; Content Type: article; Copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.