The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Saturday
Social media networks grandparents need to know about
What is it A Chinese-owned app dedicated to short videos.
How do young people use it For advice on everything from beauty tips to personal finance to cooking. Why you might like it yourself It’s entertaining, and can be useful for hobbies – “booktok”, for example, is a sub-genre that has been credited with making reading cool again, and is a place for book enthusiasts to discuss, recommend and discover what they like to read.
What is it An “end-to-end encrypted” messaging service (no one – including WhatsApp – can see the messages apart from the sender and recipient).
How do young people use it
To communicate with a group of friends (you can create a “group chat” to message a specific set of people).
Why you might like it yourself Set up a family WhatsApp group and it’s a great way to keep up with everyone’s goings-on, from sharing cute family photos to telling everyone what time to come for dinner.
INSTAGRAM What is it
A photo and video-sharing app.
How do young people use it
To document their lives. Why you might like it yourself It’s a great way to get visual inspiration on everything from new recipes to gardening.
SNAPCHAT
What is it A messaging app that lets users exchange pictures and videos that are meant to disappear after they’re viewed.
How do young people use it To connect with and follow friends. Why you might like it yourself It’s intimate and fun – and you’re more likely to get a response to your “snap” from your grandchild than sending a text.
YOUTUBE
What is it A video-sharing website. How do young people use it To learn about different topics, like finding tricks or bugs in a video game, or what the guitar chords for a particular piece of music are. Why you might like it yourself You can get lost down a rabbit-hole of personally tailored videos, from Plácido Domingo’s conducting to every DIY project you could possibly imagine. Also extremely useful for when you, for example, want to work out how to clear the filter on your Bosch washing machine and can’t find the instructions.