Jeong, D. C.,

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Jeong and Lee’s (2017) article Snap back to reality: Examining the cognitive mechanisms underlying Snapchat examines the mobile application Snapchat as a unique social medium that departs from mainstream media forms. Snapchat does this by being fundamentally visual and occuring in real-time, representing a stronger sense of “being present” and breaking temporal and physical issues in communication. Jeong and Lee argue that Snapchat is a medium that fulfills the desired gap in social media platforms and their practices in regards to “Social Presence” generated by the medium. The communication and interface design of Snapchat essentially occurs in real-time and offers a new mode of communication through images and videos that opens up the communication designs of social media platforms that suits our needs and lifestyles. Jeong and Lee provide a fulfillment in the gap in the literature on Snapchat as a social medium platform that, in its design, creates larger uses for communication. Their current study adds to the notion that perceived closeness and face-to-face communication is highly desired when using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), therefore Snapchat harnesses underlying Theories of Mind and Social Presence mechanisms within its interface design.

Snap back to reality: Examining the cognitive mechanisms underlying Snapchat argues “that the appeal of visually-dominated social media is rooted in their mirroring of perceptual reality…” and that the Snapchat model mirrors perceptual reality not through visual representations, but by capturing social information through action and movement through 'snap' (image/video clips) and the 'vanishing feature' which mimic or daily actual visual perceptual experience in comparison to other social media platforms. Jeong and Lee fill the gap in literature about Snapchat’s appeal to potential closeness and face-to-face communication, as where Piwek and Joinson (2016) have embarked the literature and scholarship on Snapchat’s personal and intimate relations as a social media platform. [[1]]

Leong and Lee gathered a sample of 656 Snapchat users, aged 18-29 that were undergraduate students from a university in California that participated in an online study. The online study included a questionnaire that asked questions based on the concept of mirroring reality (questions on Snapchat intensity and usage), Presence theory, and the Theory of Mind. Leong and Lee found both the Theory of Mind and Social Presence determined daily usage and intensity of the Snapchat by its users. They also found that Snapchat users identify and find the appeal in the various “cognitive precursors and mechanisms that underlie Theory of Mind within the Snapchat interface and user experience” (p. 278). The impact of both Social Presence and Theory of Mind in Snapchat demonstrates the importance of designing ICTs for the human mind and how humans interact socially.

The weaknesses of this article begin with the limitations in using a survey for research and hypothesis’ that are wide in scope. The research would have benefited further from reaching beyond a survey for results. Another limitation was the use of the Theory of Mind within their research. The theory as a construct has been primarily used for individuals with a deficit on the autism spectrum, however the use within this research is to understand users’ appeal to media technology in reference to appeal, use, and comfort. Another limitation of Leong and Lee’s present study is the lack of experimental design, where the researchers do not compare Snapchat use to another social medium of some kind, such as Instagram or Facebook. The researchers also highlight the issues of using a correlational design in regards to not allowing for causal inference or directionality (p. 279).

A large strength in the research conducted by Leong and Lee is the contribution to the scholarship in the area, for there is a considerable lack of literature on Snapchat more generally. Although Piwek and Joinson (2016) provided research on Snapchat’s linkages to more personal and intimate relationships, Leong and Lee are the first to analyze the relationship between individual’s pleasure in the mediums design and communication due to its simulation of closeness and face-to-face communication, therefore providing new insight into the field. The article also identifies an important issue in social media usage amongst young adults; Snapchat’s design promotes interface communication over face-to-face communication, because it is more accessible and simulates closeness and face-to-face interactions through the medium. Leong and Lee encourage further research on the perceptual reality through Snapchat features and communication design.

-Alex Lapkowski

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