Inside Teen Life on Snapchat: Friendship, Flirting, and the Rise of Tech-Facilitated Abuse

The study shows that Snapchat is central to teenage friendship, dating, and sexual exploration, but its design features also make it a major site of harassment, pressure, stalking, and image-based sexual abuse. Teens understand the risks yet continue to engage, driven by a desire for connection, highlighting the need for safer platform design rather than blaming young users.

Researchers from University College London’s Centre for Multidisciplinary and Intercultural Inquiry and Institute of Education, together with scholars from Western University in Canada and Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, set out to understand how Snapchat shapes teenage relationships, intimacy, and harm. Their study focuses on British teens aged 13 to 18 and was conducted after COVID-19 lockdowns, when young people spent more time online. Rather than treating Snapchat as simply a risky app, the researchers show how it has become a core part of teenage social life, influencing how young people make friends, flirt, explore sexuality, and experience abuse.

Everyday Connection and New Friendships

For most participants, Snapchat was an essential communication tool. Teens described using it constantly to message friends, share jokes, send photos, and feel close to others, especially during lockdown when face-to-face contact was limited. The app’s disappearing messages and casual photo-sharing felt less pressured than other platforms, making it easier to be spontaneous and “real.”

At the same time, Snapchat encouraged teens to connect with people they did not fully know. The “Quick Add” feature suggested new contacts based on mutual friends, and many teens accepted these requests. Sharing mutual connections made strangers feel safer, even when teens had never met them in person. During lockdown, feelings of boredom and loneliness made teens even more likely to accept new connections, expanding their networks far beyond close friends.

Dating, Flirting, and Sexting on Snapchat

Snapchat played a major role in teenage dating. Many participants described it as a kind of “Tinder for teens,” where asking for someone’s Snapchat was a normal step in showing romantic interest. Because Snapchat profiles show very little personal information, teens developed simple routines to get to know each other, usually starting with exchanging names, ages, and selfies.

Many teens moved between platforms to manage intimacy. Instagram or TikTok were often used to check what someone looked like, while Snapchat was used for private conversations and flirting. For some, these interactions included consensual sharing of intimate images. Snapchat’s disappearing photos, screenshot alerts, and private folders gave teens a sense of safety, even though most knew these protections could be easily bypassed.

When Platform Features Enable Harm

The study found that Snapchat was also the most common platform where teens experienced digital harm. Many reported receiving unwanted sexual images, repeated requests for nude photos, sexual harassment, and stalking. These harms often came from people they only knew online, including adults pretending to be teenagers. Snapchat’s use of avatars instead of real profile photos and its lack of identity checks made it easier for perpetrators to hide who they really were.

Location sharing through Snap Maps was a particular concern. Some teens described being tracked or monitored by others who could see where they were in real time. In a few cases, this led to serious fear when online contacts showed up in physical spaces. Although users can turn off location sharing, many teens left it on because it felt normal among friends or early romantic contacts.

Pressure, Gender, and the Illusion of Safety

Girls, in particular, described feeling pressure to send sexual images as part of flirting or dating. Often, refusing led to being ignored or harassed, and over time, some felt their boundaries slowly wore down. While these interactions sometimes felt voluntary at the time, many later reflected that they were driven by fear of rejection or a desire for validation. Boys also reported uncomfortable experiences, showing that harm can affect anyone, though it often follows gendered patterns.

The researchers conclude that Snapchat’s safety tools do not match how teens actually use the platform. Young people are not unaware of the risks; they understand them but often choose to take chances in pursuit of connection and intimacy. Rather than blaming teens or promoting abstinence-only messages, the study calls for better platform design, stronger regulation, and education that respects young people’s rights, agency, and need for safe digital spaces.