(BREITBART) – Snapchat’s friend ranking feature, part of its paid subscription service, is exacerbating feelings of insecurity and anxiety among teenagers by quantifying their social status within their friend group. The feature is just another example of how Silicon Valley titans place tremendous pressure on today’s teens to be part of the “in crowd,” leading one teen to explain, “It’s everyone’s biggest fear put onto an app.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that Snapchat, the popular social media app used by over 20 million U.S. teens, has come under scrutiny for a controversial paid feature that ranks friends based on their level of interaction. The app’s $4-per-month Snapchat+ subscription includes a friend solar system that shows users where they stand with each friend, represented by planets. The closer the planet, the higher the friendship ranking.
15-year-old Callie Schietinger from Yorktown, New York, experienced firsthand how this feature can fuel drama and misunderstandings in young relationships. “A lot of kids my age have trouble differentiating best friends on Snapchat from actual best friends in real life,” she said. Callie dealt with an upset boyfriend who noticed he was ranked lower than one of her male friends.
