Does It Ever Really Vanish?

We are used to having applications on our phones in which we express our opinion constantly. Whether it is through a comment, a post, or a message. Social media has accustomed almost everyone to be bolder on the internet than in person. Have you ever heard the saying, “If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it online”? I won’t deny that even I was guilty of being too bold sometimes.

Certain applications delete their messages as soon as they are opened. Some examples include Snapchat and WhatsApp. Now, Facebook has a feature that deletes messages once you leave the chat, according to Andrew Hutchinson’s article Facebook Adds New ‘Vanish Mode’ Disappearing Messages in Messenger. This newly implemented feature is similar to the one that Snapchat has been using for a few years now.

At 12 years old I was new to Snapchat, back then it was known for the “10-second rule” which is how long a picture would last if sent directly to another user. Now, the user has more control over how long the chat can be seen but knowing chats would disappear made me and maybe a lot of other people too comfortable.

I don’t know about you, but this is concerning to me because of the age differences that use social media platforms. The younger people are, the easier it is to fool them. There are many examples in which someone can be chatting with a stranger. Parents don’t know if the person is trustworthy or if their child is in danger because there is no evidence.

Not only that, but this is teaching people to live without fear of consequences for their actions or words. For example, in the situation of someone being cyberbullied, the person being bullied has no evidence whatsoever of being attacked because of features like the ‘Vanishing Mode’ on Facebook and Snapchat.

There have always been ways to control settings within a chat, but Facebook Messenger makes it easier by simply sliding up on a chat and turning on the feature. If Facebook implemented this feature, then that can only mean that Instagram will have it sooner rather than later.

I have learned to watch what I say online because I want my personality to be reflected on my platforms and not give my followers two different versions. I also believe that messages or any content never fully disappears once it is posted or sent. Therefore, I wouldn’t want anything to come haunting me in the future.

Technology is advancing rapidly, my only advice is to be informed of the benefits, but also the consequences of saying something online that you wouldn’t say in person.