{"id":344,"date":"2016-06-09T00:45:59","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T00:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=344"},"modified":"2016-06-09T00:45:59","modified_gmt":"2016-06-09T00:45:59","slug":"geny-snapchat-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=344","title":{"rendered":"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\u00a0<\/span>\n

\u201cY<\/span>ou want me to take a video of you brushing your\u00a0<\/p>teeth<\/span><\/i>?!\u201d<\/span>\n\nMy sister, on the cusp of turning 30, and too busy with her newborn baby girl to play around on social media, was looking at me with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. \u201cIt\u2019s for my Snap story,\u201d I whined, making her look at me like I was completely insane. <\/span>\n\n\u201cOh my God, Snapchat again? Do you guys have nothing better to do?\u201d<\/span>\n\nI\u2019m basically a nice person, so I didn\u2019t explode and yell that it was certainly better than posting \u201chere\u2019re my baby burping\u201d pics on stupid old Facebook. I breathed in deeply and explained to her that I hung out on Snapchat because if I didn\u2019t, I would miss many stories\u2026 that they didn\u2019t hang around waiting for you to come back until the baby had been burped. On Snapchat if you take a picture and send it, it disappears in 20 seconds. If you send a text, it disappears as soon as you close the window. You can post short pictures and videos to your story, but that auto-deletes itself in 24 hours too. \u00a0<\/span>\n\n\u201cSo what\u2019s the point?\u201d she shot back. \u00a0<\/span>\n\nI don\u2019t think I was prepared for the question because I looked at her as if she\u2019d suddenly asked me about the Pythagoras theorem. Was there really any point in putting effort into creating something that self-destructs in 24 hours? <\/span>\n\nSnapchat is a product of the digital era. Snapchatters spend time and effort making the perfect story every day, only to start all over again the next day. It isn\u2019t permanent; it won\u2019t be immortalised. But then, haven\u2019t Buddhists been creating and destroying gorgeous, intricate sand mandalas for like a millions years?<\/span>\n\nAs artists (and wannabe artists) are fond of reminding us, art needn\u2019t have a purpose and if it does, it isn\u2019t art by definition. I think there\u2019s something very Zen and beautiful about that. <\/span>\n\nSnapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s natural that the urgency and minute-to-minute nature of Snapchat is addictive to a generation that\u2019s always connected. It seems Snapchatters have internalised the sentiments we once shared so insistently on Instagram, actually bringing the idea of \u201cliving in the moment\u201d to practice through social media.<\/span>\n\nMy sister\u2019s Facebook is full of milestones, work details, life events, and the occasional baby burp (to her rose-tinted mama eyes, a daily milestone in itself). My Snapchat, on the other hand, has video snippets of me walking to the store (sped up), eating a cupcake (in reverse), and brushing my teeth (in slow motion). Remember, Facebook was launched at a time when using it was a novelty in itself: The first users of Facebook accessed it deliberately, from a laptop or personal computer, not a cell phone. This, of course, sets the tone for how its used and what its used for: It was meant for the special, not the every day. The very name comes from the concept of a high school yearbook: A space for creating lasting memories of important life events. Snapchat, on the other hand, was created for the generation that expects to be online, one that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because we\u2019re never away from our devices. Snapchat exemplifies the hipster notion of <\/span>fetishising the normal<\/span><\/a> by letting us literally live our lives on social media, ephemeral and all, it\u2019s in many ways far more authentic than Facebook can ever be. <\/span>\n

\u201cAnd your daughter and her generation,\u201d I told my sister, \u201cwill grow up in a world way more transient, ephemeral than mine.\u201d<\/blockquote>\nRemember, millennials don\u2019t have to value permanence. When the internet is at your disposal from the moment you\u2019re born, you don\u2019t need to worry about \u201clearning by heart\u201d. The internet has changed the way we think about and store information, and Snapchat makes similar demands of us. When you know that you have only 20 seconds to view an image, you look at it more closely, absorb it differently. There\u2019s a sense of urgency about Snapchat that demands our complete attention, and it\u2019s a pretty effective way of remembering.<\/span>\n\nNew mama waited patiently for me to finish my spiel and then hit me with, \u201cPray, why is brushing your teeth a thing worth remembering?\u201d<\/span>\n\nOnce again the urge to yell, \u201cThat\u2019s the point!\u201d and stomp my feet for added effect took over. Of course brushing your teeth is not worth remembering, but Snapchat can make it worth remembering. My story turns my average day of seemingly pedestrian actions into a little movie of photos and video clips with lovely experiments with lighting, camera shots, filters, audio-visual effects, and even minor plots. I told her how Snapchat is creating a generation of young filmmakers who don\u2019t even know they\u2019re filmmakers and how every filmmaker can be their own hero. And a hero brushing his teeth heroically in slow motion with the filter of a fire-breathing dragon can be a pretty awesome thing. <\/span>\n\n\u201cLife can be an endless series of meaningless actions if you give them no shape, no filter,\u201d I concluded rather eloquently (thus earning an eye-roll). Snapchat, I argued, embodies the first principle of existentialism: Life isn\u2019t about finding yourself; it is about creating yourself. I silently congratulated myself on this Sartre level of insight. <\/span>\n\n\u201cSorry,\u201d the new mama says unconvincingly, \u201cbut it still sounds a bit stupid to me.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\n\nNow I love my sister, but I must say she was being exceedingly difficult. Still, I patiently and adroitly changed tack and told her about Yusuf Omar. <\/span>\n\nYusuf Omar, mobile editor of the Hindustan Times, has been <\/span>using<\/span><\/a> Snapchat filters to help sexual abuse victims speak out about their experiences in their own words without being identified. Filters like the bee and the fire-breathing dragon disguise people\u2019s faces enough that their facial features are completely obscured, while still allowing them to be in control of telling their stories in their own words, instead of having them sensationalised by the people who write the news. It\u2019s an amazing idea, and only a millennial could have come up with it.<\/span>\n\n\u201cAnd your daughter and her generation,\u201d I told my sister, \u201cwill grow up in a world way more transient, ephemeral than mine.\u201d <\/span>\n\nNew mama suddenly went quiet and then grabbed her phone. <\/span>\n\n\u201cSo,\u201d she says, \u201cthis is what all the kids are going to be on, huh?\u201d<\/span>\n\nI grinned as I watched her download the app. I\u2019d finally got her!\u00a0Sure, it had taken some shrewd baby-leverage, but suddenly she wanted to be in on anything that her daughter would be on in a few years. <\/span>\n\nI didn\u2019t have the heart, of course, to tell her that her daughter\u2019s generation would be tripping on something that would make Snapchat look like snail mail but then, I thought \u2013 why bother? <\/span>\n\nLet\u2019s take the fight one generation at a time. <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Snapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s created for a generation that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because its never offline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[62,63,64,65,66,67,632,633,71,72],"class_list":["post-344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-arre","tag-arre-digital-platform","tag-arre-originals","tag-arre-reads","tag-arre-text-articles","tag-arre-website","tag-snapchat","tag-snapchat-story","tag-web-series","tag-web-shows"],"yoast_head":"\nHey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Snapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s created for a generation that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because its never offline.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Snapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s created for a generation that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because its never offline.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-09T00:45:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1468997582-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1352\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sharanya Gopinathan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Snapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s created for a generation that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because its never offline.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sharanya Gopinathan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sharanya Gopinathan\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/49ac11e2fa26ce5a9c521186652b90dc\"},\"headline\":\"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-09T00:45:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344\"},\"wordCount\":1185,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1468997582-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"arre\",\"arre digital platform\",\"arre originals\",\"arre reads\",\"arre text articles\",\"arre website\",\"snapchat\",\"snapchat story\",\"web series\",\"web shows\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Pop Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344\",\"name\":\"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1468997582-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-09T00:45:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/49ac11e2fa26ce5a9c521186652b90dc\"},\"description\":\"Snapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s created for a generation that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because its never offline.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1468997582-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1468997582-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1352},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=344#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/49ac11e2fa26ce5a9c521186652b90dc\",\"name\":\"Sharanya Gopinathan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8616794dbde970914ca66e7e6650d55285fff9565b90aab988c193c7a2f95a26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8616794dbde970914ca66e7e6650d55285fff9565b90aab988c193c7a2f95a26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8616794dbde970914ca66e7e6650d55285fff9565b90aab988c193c7a2f95a26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sharanya Gopinathan\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=65\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?","description":"Snapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s created for a generation that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because its never offline.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?","og_description":"Snapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s created for a generation that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because its never offline.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-06-09T00:45:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1352,"url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1468997582-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sharanya Gopinathan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?","twitter_description":"Snapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s created for a generation that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because its never offline.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sharanya Gopinathan","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344"},"author":{"name":"Sharanya Gopinathan","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/49ac11e2fa26ce5a9c521186652b90dc"},"headline":"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?","datePublished":"2016-06-09T00:45:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344"},"wordCount":1185,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1468997582-scaled.jpg","keywords":["arre","arre digital platform","arre originals","arre reads","arre text articles","arre website","snapchat","snapchat story","web series","web shows"],"articleSection":["Pop Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344","url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344","name":"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1468997582-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2016-06-09T00:45:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/49ac11e2fa26ce5a9c521186652b90dc"},"description":"Snapchat exemplifies everything that\u2019s different between millennials and Gen Y. It\u2019s created for a generation that has abandoned the term \u201cbrb\u201d because its never offline.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1468997582-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1468997582-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1352},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=344#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hey Gen Y, Can You Please Cut Snapchat Some Slack?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/49ac11e2fa26ce5a9c521186652b90dc","name":"Sharanya Gopinathan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8616794dbde970914ca66e7e6650d55285fff9565b90aab988c193c7a2f95a26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8616794dbde970914ca66e7e6650d55285fff9565b90aab988c193c7a2f95a26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8616794dbde970914ca66e7e6650d55285fff9565b90aab988c193c7a2f95a26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sharanya Gopinathan"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=65"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1468997582-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}