Millennials cannot be separated from their smartphones. It’s a fact.
They serve as as their social interaction, their learning tool, their communication, their camera, their calculator, their recipe book, their period tracker… oh, Lord – the list is long, and potentially infinite.
But far from rolling our eyes as we normally do at the announcement of a new ‘smartphone tool’ (What next? Reminding us to breathe?) an innovative new concept has emerged from India that, without any exaggeration, could save lives.
What is ‘Snapchat Counsellors’?
‘Snapchat Counsellors’ is a new account opened on the Snapchat platform, that houses qualified relationship counsellors ready to talk at any time to troubled men and women in abusive relationships.
Based on the general demographic of the Snapchat program, it is aimed at “college” age students.
Snapchat, for those not perpetually attached to the device in their hands, is a social photo-sharing platform. Snap, chat, and send. The person on the receiving end will have the picture for ten seconds or so, before it disappears – permanently.
The ‘now you see it, now you don’t’ premise of Snapchat is what makes it so attractive to younger users – it dodges the privacy issues of snooping mums and dads, and opens an exciting new world of chatting free from the risk. (That is, the risk of having it splashed across the internet without your permission.)
It’s the secretive nature of Snapchat conversations that make it such a genius premise for a domestic violence helpline.
You can watch the promo video for Snapchat Counsellors below: