Snapchat spider prank: Fun for kids or traumatizing?

Snapchat spider prank: Fun for kids or traumatizing?

Smartphones and apps have given parents tons of new ways to entertain kids, whether it’s letting them play a virtual spelling game or streaming their favorite cartoon in the waiting room at the pediatrician’s office. But the latest way some parents are using the popular photo app Snapchat has sparked a debate. People are accusing moms and dads of traumatizing their children by scaring them with the app’s new spider filter and posting their terrified reactions on social media.

The Snapchat filter uses 3D technology to digitally superimpose an image of a crawling tarantula on people’s faces. In the videos parents are sharing, they’re turning the photo filter on their kids — often, children who appear to be preschool age or even younger — and recording their reactions, as they watch the fake spiders “crawl” across their faces. 

Here’s mom of five and KTVB Boise news anchor Maggie O̵7;Mara demonstrating the app: 

In videos that have been posted on Twitter, kids have displayed a wide range of distressing reactions, from crying and screaming to attempting to swat the spider away from their own faces. A few children have been unfazed by the prank, but the majority of them appear genuinely distraught and don’t seem to understand that what they’re seeing isn’t real. Care.com has made the editorial decision not to link to the footage, in the interest of preserving children’s privacy. 

Even though parents think they’re pulling a harmless prank, many have criticized them for intentionally scaring their kids for laughs. A writer at Fatherly called the moms and dads “bad parents” and accused them of “tormenting” their kids. On Twitter, some commenters are even calling the parents out.

https://twitter.com/M_Letsholonyane/status/1191306405644509186?s=20

This spider Snapchat filter may be a recent thing, but using apps and social media to trick children has been a running gag for parents online for a long time. In 2015, parents caused a similar controversy by scaring their kids using a terrifying “demon” filter on Snapchat. In 2018, parents started participating in a viral “invisibility” challenge. After covering their child with a sheet, they’d say some magic words, then pull off the sheet and act like their child had disappeared while recording the kids’ terrified reactions.

While these pranks may seem funny to parents (and their social media followings), young children simply aren’t as mature as adults, and they can be legitimately scared by things that many grownups see as harmless. A 2012 study found that a primary cause of children’s nightmares is their limited ability to separate fantasy from reality. According to the study, fantasy-reality confusion is normal in child development, but some preschool-aged children experience this more acutely than others. For these kids, it can be difficult to distinguish when something isn’t real, and scary images or characters that they’re exposed to can trigger terrifying thoughts and nightmares later on.

It’s also important to note that the development of phobias is often linked to stressful or frightening events that happen during childhood. Stanford Children’s Health notes that insects and spiders are among the most common phobias children have, and while experts aren’t certain about exactly what causes phobias to develop, “a child may develop a phobia if he or she has a fearful first encounter with an object or situation.”

Even some adults are losing their minds over the spider filter, so it’s not difficult to imagine that it might be too much for little kids.

Ultimately, how a child responds to a social media prank will depend on their development, their unique personality and their relationship to their parents. One kid’s worst nightmare could be another kid’s favorite form of smartphone entertainment. But it’s still important for any parent to think carefully about their child’s individual needs and feelings before deciding if a prank like the spider filter is OK. Snapchat filters may be all fun and games to adults, but kids might have a hard time seeing the “fun” when it arrives on eight legs.


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