Snapchat Turns Off Controversial Feature Fueling Teen Anxiety

Snapchat has adjusted its ‘Solar System’ feature, turning it off by default, in response to recent criticism and concerns over its potential negative impact on teens’ mental health and relationships. The Solar System feature serves as a friend-ranking tool, driving teen anxiety by making them worry about their social status. One teen explains, “It’s everyone’s biggest fear put onto an app.”

TechCrunch reports that Snapchat, the popular social media platform beloved by teenagers, has come under scrutiny after a recent Wall Street Journal report highlighted how its “Solar System” feature was contributing to increased anxiety among teenagers. The feature, available to paid subscribers, ranks users based on their proximity to their Snapchat friends, using celestial bodies like Mercury for close friends and Uranus for more distant ones.

As Breitbart News previously reported:

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.

Parents and experts are expressing concern over the mental health impact of features like these. “You have to wonder if all this fear of being left out is part of the mental-health problems kids are facing,” said Callie’s mother, Erica Bates. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has warned about the effects of social media on youth, noting that adolescents are especially vulnerable to peer pressure and social comparison.

Critics argue that online communication doesn’t necessarily reflect real-world relationships, and such rankings can lead to hurt feelings when users discover they aren’t as close to a friend as they thought. In response to the backlash, Snapchat, has decided to turn the feature off by default.

In a newsroom post on Friday, Snap acknowledged the feedback, stating, “We’ve heard and understand that the Solar System can make that feeling worse, and we want to avoid that.” However, instead of completely removing the feature, the company has opted to make it an opt-in option for Snapchat+ subscribers.

Snap defends the feature, claiming that it provides “additional awareness and context” for users who want to know more about their friendships. The company also notes that less than 0.25 percent of the Snapchat community uses the Solar System feature. However, critics argue that this small percentage is unsurprising, given that the feature is only available to paid subscribers.

This is not the first time Snapchat has faced criticism for features that may have unintended consequences. The app’s ‘Streaks’ feature, which encourages daily communication between users, has been debated for its potentially addictive nature and psychological harms. In response, Snap introduced the ability to pause and restore Streaks last year.

Read more at TechCrunch here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.