Digital Smarts - What Snapchat Spectacles May Mean in 2017

Are you or your kids waiting to get your hands on a pair of Spectacles from Snapchat? Spectacles are sunglasses with an integrated video camera that makes it easy to create short videos, and marketing experts are saying the influencers your kids follow online (celebrities and bloggers who post “personal reviews” and have millions of followers online) will be using these stylish pieces of hardware in significant ways in 2017. They expect we will see more first person reviews and “unboxings” of products meant to influence teens and other consumers. They also expect that the device will be used to do more first person shoots of extreme sporting events – think of a more advanced Go-Pro. If the thought of these “glasses” is concerning to you, there are already teens posting hacks on how to disguise the spectacles to prevent others from knowing they are being filmed. This obviously raises concerns about video being used to bully and harass since the glasses will do all the work and no one will even have to pull out a phone or use their hands to point and shoot.