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Recently, Apple released the new iOS 12 update for the iPhone. There is a new feature that monitors what apps people use and how much time they spend on each app. It has yet to be decided whether or not this feature will be helpful for Millennials and Generation Z. Viewfinder reporters surveyed the students at Grand View to see where they were spending most of their “screen time” on their phones. First, students were asked to guess what app they spend the most time on. 

Snapchat is what most students guessed they spend a majority of their time on. Surprisingly, students who took the survey were aware of which apps they were spending the most time on. According to our survey results, Snapchat is the most used app followed by Facebook and Instagram. Snapchat, according to Business Insider has over 158 million users and growing. Its an app that you can send videos and photos to each other with different filters or text and they disappear within ten seconds or so.

Why people are so attracted to Snapchat? Is this actually a productive way for students to spend their time?

“Snapchat is attractive because there’s like so many different features, there’s the snap map, the bitmoji stickers, the filters. You’re able to see what everyone else is doing and expand your news intake with the discovery area. However I will admit that it’s a distraction,” Grand View University junior, Kaity Munsterman said.

The fact that people can keep tabs on what others are doing may seem harmless at first, but studies have shown that it can have negative effects, even on your health.

CEO of Royal Society for Public Health Shirley Cramer said, “It’s interesting to see Instagram and Snapchat ranking as the worst for mental health and wellbeing – both platforms are very image-focused and it appears they may be driving feelings of inadequacy and anxiety in young people.”

Since the top three most used apps are major social media platforms, it leaves us questioning whether students could be spending their time in a more productive way. 

Grand View’s Director of Success, Dr. Shanna Fountain comments on the use of social media in the classroom and how students should be productive with their social media.

 

Social media can be abused and be distracting, but it also is used to communicate with friends. There is a balance that this generation of users has yet to learn. While completely deleting social media may seem unrealistic, students must learn to be productive while using it.