What are Snapchat’s Spectacles?
“Spectacles are sunglasses that capture your world, the way you see it. Just press, then play.” www.spectacles.com
This is the homepage description of Snapchat’s SPECTACLES, which are sunglasses that link to your Snapchat account to direct upload the moments you record while wearing them.
Sounds amazing! Sounds terrifying! And, for $149.99 you, too can own a pair.
“Imagine one of your favorite memories. What if you could go back and see that memory the way you experienced it? That’s why we built Spectacles.
Spectacles are sunglasses with an integrated video camera that makes it easy to create Memories.
We’ve created one of the smallest wireless video cameras in the world, capable of taking a day’s worth of Snaps on a single charge, and we integrated it seamlessly into a fun pair of sunglasses…”
Questions to Ask About Snapchat’s Spectacles:
As you walk around during your day, it’s no secret that in many places, there are video cameras recording the world. Whether it’s at the bank or the grocery store, these recordings are primarily motivated by safety. Spectacles create a different set of privacy concerns because of their link to social media. Consider these questions:
- When people start wearing their camera all the time, what risks does this create for you and your kids?
- Will there be laws that outlaw wearing Spectacles while driving?
- Can I wear Spectacles into the bathroom?
- Where’s the trade-off between your right to record and my right to privacy?
Consider this statement from a concerned mom that we received via Facebook:
“Can you educate your community about Snapchat glasses? I had no idea they existed and just heard from my middle school student that she and her friends hide from a kid who wears them at school. He goes around bragging about all the likes he gets on his videos of unsuspecting subjects.”
Parents and Schools Need to Step In
When a child is wearing these glasses to school, that’s a parenting problem. It’s also a massive liability for the school. In the absence of solid digital policies, it’s possible it could be brought to task for privacy risk, and at worst, inappropriate content recorded at school, attributed to the school’s reputation.
We’ve gathered best practice school policies through our work with numerous organizations from around the country, creating a small suit of templates that schools and churches can use to keep their kids and their reputations safe. These can be downloaded for free!
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