Is Snapchat Really That Bad?

Last week, I shared a reflection about something many parents feel but struggle to name:  the digital world shaping our children is not neutral. 

Each week, I write about the systems influencing our children and our culture. I’m bringing this here because protecting children online is not about fear or politics.

It is about  truth, stewardship, and courage. 

Is Snapchat Really That Bad? Yes. It's the worst of the worst of the apps - and that's saying a lot.

Fourteen-year-old Alexander Neville was preparing to start high school when he died after taking a fentanyl-laced pill he believed was oxycodone, obtained from someone he met on Snapchat. 

His mother, Amy Neville, has spent years working to expose how drug dealers use the platform to reach children. 

This is happening. 

When lawmakers attempt to pass child-safety protections, Snap spends millions lobbying against them. Money that could fund meaningful safeguards instead defends a business model built on secrecy, anonymity, and constant engagement. 

Meanwhile, children are paying the price. 

Kids are being cyberbullied, groomed, sexually exploite3d and targeted with lethal drugs on platforms marketed as fun and safe. 

Our children are growing up in digital environments that shape their hearts, minds, and  sense of worth. These environments are not neutral. 

Features like streaks turn friendships into obligation. Disappearing messages normalize secrecy. Algorithmic feeds reward constant return. 

These design choices carry moral weight. 

Childhood should not be collateral damage in the pursuit of profit. 

Real protection does not begin with panic. It begins with clarity and adults willing to ask hard questions. 

What features have you seen that seem designed to keep kids hooked, even when it does not serve their well-being? 

This Week in Big Tech 

A landmark trial has begun against major social media companies, including Meta and YouTube. 

For the first time, a jury will consider whether these platforms were designed in ways that  drive compulsive use among young people and whether executives understood the risks. The conversation is shifting from opinion to accountability. 

Read the full Reuters coverage here: 

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/25/nx-s1-5746125/meta-youtube-social-media-trial-verdict

Take One Step 

If protecting children online matters to you, take one concrete step today. Sign the petition calling for stronger safeguards for minors. 

It takes less than a minute. 

 It sends a clear message. 

Our children are not collateral damage.

A Closing Prayer 

Lord, 

We grieve the harm done to children and the families left with questions that never should  have existed. 

Strengthen parents. Protect children. Give leaders courage to choose what is right over  what is profitable. 

Teach us to be faithful stewards of what You have entrusted to us. 

In Jesus' Name, Amen.