Snapchat After Dark

By Mark Love ‘16

Oh, Snapchat. It'sthe photo messaging application that’s taking the world by storm. Thousands of users post every waking moment of their lives on there from selfies and diner to social outings. The app mirrors Instagram except it’s bit more personal. I even stalk my friends on Snapchat for a few minutes to catch myself up on their lives if I haven’t seen them in awhile. Even USC has its own account called “Our Campus Story”, filled with videos and photos of events and the pure aesthetics of the campus that other Trojans posted on their own stories.

But don’t let the smiles, food, and playful videos fool you. Apparently, there’s a Snapchat account called “USCYak1” that shows what some student users like to post after dark…..and I’m pretty sure administration won’t post these on the school Snapchat. Annenberg Television News broke the story of users, assumed to be students, posting nude and sexually explicit pictures on the account. I guess some students are starting spring break early, and just want to let loose.

I’m not judging the participants of the account, but you may want to think twice before exposing your body for the world to see. According to Snapchat, pictures and videos are erased after 24 hours of postage, but with the way technology is set up, those nudes may never disappear. Look up “the fappening” if you need some hundreds of examples. I don’t want to sound like that overprotective dad archetype; yet, I would have hoped that students had more common sense than to share their bare body to the student body. I understand that people may feel compelled to send nudes to their crush or significant other. I’m young too, so I’m familiar with the experience. However, posting risqué photos on a public app can cause some friction in your future if the wrong hands gets ahold of them. Think carefully you guys.