You’re Not Too Old For Snapchat

News Flash: You’re not too old for Snapchat! Snapchat isn’t just for the millennial set, it’s for people who want to stay in touch with friends, family and connect with people who inspire them!

I’m in my mid-40’s and I’ve convinced more than half of my friends to use the app. I absolutely LOVE Snapchat! Out of all the other favorite social media platforms of today including: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram— Snapchat is the fastest, easiest, funnest way to share special moments and silly moments and everything in between with your friends and family. Most of my family lives in Ohio and about a third of my friends are overseas or in other time zones. With Snapchat, we’re able to connect with each other on our own time. For instance, I have a really great friend who lives in India. I was able to see her wedding live thru “Snap”. It was an intimate affair and she had her own Geofilter–which added a really cool element to her story and those that were shared among the very close friends in attendance.

Perhaps there are some users or “snappers” as they’re called, whom take multiple snaps before they add them to their story, but most of us take pride in producing a “pure story” that isn’t edited or pre-planned to share with friends, family and other viewers. When I first learned about Snapchat, I thought that maybe Instagram and Facebook were “enough”. But I soon found out, that unlike those two social media platforms, where everything is carefully curated and sometimes envy provoking, Snapchat offers people a glimpse into a more open and personally liberating way to be your true, authentic self. People use Snapchat to share human interest stories that may be self deprecating, demonstrating someone’s best self or sharing something weird and purely unexpected.

Navigating Snapchat: A Few Basics

Part 1 Snaps: Self-destructing photos or quick videos (up to 10 seconds) shared with friends that disappear immediately after it’s been viewed.

Part 2 Story: A series of snaps for all of your friends or followers to see that lasts for 24 hours after it’s been published.

Part 3 Chat: One to one text chatting. After viewing, the thread will disappear.

Part 4 Viewing: Just as with all of the other social media, you have your share of people who “scroll” and those who “publish”. They’re called voyeurs. Add your friends from your phone book and also search by user name.

Part 5 Storytelling: With Snapchat, it’s about depicting your “authentic life”. Go ahead and snap yourself without make-up or in your sweaty workout clothes. Get real with it! Then use the filters to give your snap some character. You can find your location geo-filter or use the filters to add a time stamp, temperature stamp. You can also speed up, slow-down and reverse a snap video. Once you’ve captured your snap, tap the arrow at the bottom right corner and either send it to a friend, a group of friends or add it to your shared “story”.

It’s really easy! And it’s so fun! I’ve re-connected with several friends from college over Snapchat. My friends and I have been able to “binge watch” each other’s snaps during our down time to kinda “catch up” on our day-to-day activities. This is especially exciting when one of us is traveling to an exotic locale. My personal trainer has been able to send me (and her followers) little workout routines to inspire us on days we’re working out on our own. And what’s great is, we have a 24 hour window of time to watch the stories—at our leisure!

One of the ways that Snapchat stands apart from all the other social media platforms is that it always feels like it’s in “real time” and draws you in like your favorite travel show, your favorite cooking show, a daily talk show or even your favorite reality show—except this time it’s actually about someone you know and care about!

You can find me on Snapchat: AngelicaTalan.

Share your handle below so I can follow you back! I’d love to know what your favorite thing is about Snapchat! Please share your in the comments below!