Snapchat recently released a new feature called “Discover,” which provides daily, short news features from 12 different editorial teams including CNN, Cosmopolitan, Food Network, ESPN, Daily Mail and People Magazine.
Snapchat is easy to navigate, making it one of the most-used social media applications today. Until Jan. 29, when Discover was introduced, users were only allowed to take pictures or videos with the options to send them directly to friends or post them to their 24-hour story.
Discover follows Snapchat’s basic structure, relating news stories from different publications by posting a handful of pictures or short videos. To find out more about a story, users simply swipe up the featured graphic and the full article appears. Each one of the 12 sources provides new stories every 24 hours based on either what is most popular or most recent in the news or publication.
Many people in today’s society log on to their Facebook and Twitter accounts to see what is going on in the world. According to Pew Research, 30 percent of people in the United States get news from Facebook and 8 percent go to Twitter.
Tweets and posts are not bad ways to get daily news, as they are constantly being updated throughout the day and allow instant access to information.
I am a user of social media and appreciate the ability to obtain different stories through the browser and applications on my phone. I personally use social media to find out more about current world news and actively search hashtags to see the different perspectives on controversial topics.
When the San Francisco Ferguson Protest happened in November, I unexpectedly found myself in the midst of protesters and policemen as I was crossing the street with my family. Without thinking, I began to capture the chaos that was occurring around me by adding videos to my Snapchat story.
My friends on Snapchat were able to see my experience through the videos I shared, which unintentionally served as a news source. Although it was raw footage that displayed a visual of what was going on in San Francisco, my Snapchat did not have informative descriptions about exactly what was happening.
Snapchat, along with other social media sites, should be used by people so that they may be informed and never feel out of the loop. Social media make a great way to provide instant news to the public, and that will only continue to improve. If we have this technology that allows us to have the events of the world at the tips of our fingers, then we should not hesitate to make use of it and excel in our knowledge about the history that is currently taking place.
Although social media sites are great means to get our news, we should not rely solely on them to provide information and details about events going on in the world. We must not forget the value of printed newspapers and magazines as well as online newspaper, magazine and broadcast news sites.
Print articles and radio and TV news contain descriptive information about an event that took place and can be available to you at all times as long as you have the newspaper or magazine or access to the newscast. However, it might be a hassle to try to find these at certain times. Plus, they don’t always guarantee the most updated information about a story. That’s why people more and more are turning to the websites of these media for information.
Discover will boost the number of users on Snapchat by providing a convenient way to get quick news and entertainment. The new feature has definitely become one of my top news sources because I do not always have time to search the Web or buy a newspaper or magazine. Whether it’s running to class or sitting on the trolley, I usually open my Snapchat to get a quick idea of trending news topics. It has become a routine.
If you have thought about creating an account on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or another social media site, do not think twice about it. It won’t hurt to get news instantly wherever you go.