What makes Snapchat hit among teenagers

The Snapchat application, mainly used for sending selfies (a picture taken of yourself) is gaining popularity among youngsters, especially teens. With this app, users can take a photograph or record a video and send it to a friend. After a set time limit, the image or video self-destructs . The time limit can be10 seconds to as little as one. 

Snapchat has seen incredible growth in recent years; and it's catching on fast in Bangalore as well. The app allows teenagers to "be themselves without being too conscious of how they look" and they are enjoying it. "Snapchat's a quick and easy way to communicate," says 16-year-old Gayatri Menon, who uses this photo-messaging app to send pictures of things she finds interesting or funny every day. "Ithe app because of its self-destruction feature," says Abhilasha Seth.

"I can take as many absurd, embarrassing pictures of myself and not dread the consequences." 

But the popular conception of Snapchat is that it's used by teens to send nude and semi-nude pictures. "Sexting on Snapchat is fun and spices up my relationships," says a teenager who uses the app frequently. But notagree. "I really don'tthe concept of Snapchat. It seems a little pointless. Although many of my friends use it, I find texting a better alternative ," says 17-year-old Manvendra Kikkeri.

A photographer created a Tumblr blog dedicated to the nude Snapchat pictures. "He says he put out an open call for salacious shots on Twitter and was overwhelmed by the response," writes Doug Gross on CNN.com. The only way a recipient can preserve the photo is to take a picture of it with another camera. But, Snapchat immediately sends the user a notification saying that a screenshot has been taken, but often, it's too late.