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Automatic Archiving versus Default Deletion: What Snapchat Tells Us About Ephemerality in Design

Authors:

Christopher L. Welker,

Natalya N. Bazarova,

Dan CosleyAuthors Info & Claims

CSCW '16: Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing

Pages 1662 - 1675

https://doi.org/10.1145/2818048.2819948

Published: 27 February 2016 Publication History

Abstract

Unlike most social media, where automatic archiving of data is the default, Snapchat defaults to ephemerality: deleting content shortly after it is viewed by a receiver. Interviews with 25 Snapchat users show that ephemerality plays a key role in shaping their practices. Along with friend-adding features that facilitate a network of mostly close relations, default deletion affords everyday, mundane talk and reduces self-consciousness while encouraging playful interaction. Further, although receivers can save content through screenshots, senders are notified; this selective saving with notification supports complex information norms that preserve the feel of ephemeral communication while supporting the capture of meaningful content. This dance of giving and taking, sharing and showing, and agency for both senders and receivers provides the basis for a rich design space of mechanisms, levels, and domains for ephemerality.

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Cited By

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Automatic Archiving versus Default Deletion: What Snapchat Tells Us About Ephemerality in Design
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cover image ACM Conferences

CSCW '16: Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing

February 2016

1866 pages

ISBN:9781450335928

DOI:10.1145/2818048

General Chairs:
Darren Gergle
Northwestern University
,
Meredith Ringel Morris
Microsoft Research
,
Program Chairs:
Pernille Bjørn
University of Copenhagen
,
Joseph Konstan
University of Minnesota

Copyright © 2016 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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Published: 27 February 2016

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CSCW '16: Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing

February 27 - March 2, 2016

California, San Francisco, USA

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CSCW '16 Paper Acceptance Rate 142 of 571 submissions, 25%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 2,235 of 8,521 submissions, 26%

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3701211
Ingber A(2025)Understanding screenshot collection and sharing on messaging platforms: a privacy perspectiveJournal of Computer-Mediated Communication10.1093/jcmc/zmae02330:1Online publication date: 24-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmae023
Jeung HLee S(2024)How Features on Instagram Affect Flow and SatisfactionJournal of Digital Contents Society10.9728/dcs.2024.25.9.238125:9(2381-2399)Online publication date: 30-Sep-2024
https://doi.org/10.9728/dcs.2024.25.9.2381
Faccio EReggiani MRocelli MCipolletta S(2024)Issues Related to the Use of Visual Social Networks and Perceived Usefulness of Social Media Literacy During the Recovery Phase: Qualitative Research Among Girls With Eating DisordersJournal of Medical Internet Research10.2196/5333426(e53334)Online publication date: 2-Jul-2024
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Zillich AWunderlich A(2024)The Impact of Social Norms on Adolescents’ Self-Presentation Practices on Social MediaSocial Media + Society10.1177/2056305124129982910:4Online publication date: 30-Nov-2024
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Yao YTaylor SLeiser Ransom S(2024)Who’s Viewing My Post? Extending the Imagined Audience Process Model Toward Affordances and Self-Disclosure Goals on Social MediaSocial Media + Society10.1177/2056305123122427110:1Online publication date: 22-Jan-2024
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Kumar PZimmer MVitak J(2024)A Roadmap for Applying the Contextual Integrity Framework in Qualitative Privacy ResearchProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36537108:CSCW1(1-29)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
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Marsh ALerner A(2024)Privacy Norms of Transformative Fandom: A Case Study of an Activity-Defined CommunityProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36373888:CSCW1(1-29)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
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