Chapter 27 Quiz: Snapchat, Streaks, and Ephemerality

Instructions: Select the best answer for each question. Answer key appears at the end.

Question 1. Snapchat was founded in what year?

A) 2009 B) 2011 C) 2013 D) 2015

Question 2. What was the original name of the Snapchat application before it was relaunched?

A) Flashgram B) Vanish C) Picaboo D) Blink

Question 3. Which psychological principle most directly explains why users feel intense distress when a Snapchat streak ends?

A) Confirmation bias B) Loss aversion C) The availability heuristic D) The representativeness heuristic

Question 4. The "hourglass" emoji on Snapchat appears when:

A) A user's account is about to be suspended B) A streak is approaching its expiration window C) A snap has been opened but not replied to D) A friend has not been active for more than 24 hours

Question 5. The "streak sitter" phenomenon refers to:

A) A Snapchat moderator who monitors streaks for inappropriate content B) A teenager who gives another person their login credentials to maintain streaks while they are away C) A bot that automatically sends snaps to maintain artificial streaks D) A Snapchat customer service representative who can restore lost streaks

Question 6. Snapchat Stories was introduced in what year?

A) 2011 B) 2013 C) 2015 D) 2017

Question 7. Which platform was the first major competitor to copy Snapchat's Stories format?

A) Facebook B) Twitter C) YouTube D) Instagram

Question 8. The Snap Map feature was introduced in:

A) 2013 B) 2015 C) 2017 D) 2019

Question 9. Which privacy option does Snap Map offer that hides a user's location from all friends?

A) Dark Mode B) Private View C) Ghost Mode D) Shadow Setting

Question 10. Research by Kipling Williams on "ostracism" found that social exclusion:

A) Produces no measurable neural response B) Activates the same neural pathways as physical pain C) Is processed primarily in the prefrontal cortex as a cognitive challenge D) Produces positive neurochemical responses through social reaffirmation

Question 11. Danah Boyd's ethnographic research found that teenagers primarily valued Snapchat because:

A) It offered better photo filters than Instagram B) It had a larger user base than other platforms C) It felt more authentic and lower-stakes than platforms with permanent records D) It allowed them to communicate with strangers more safely than other platforms

Question 12. According to the chapter, the Snapchat Score:

A) Decreases if a user does not send snaps for a week B) Is a cumulative number visible to friends that increases with activity C) Is a private metric only visible to the user themselves D) Is calculated exclusively from streak activity

Question 13. Erik Erikson described adolescence as a "psychosocial moratorium," which means:

A) A period during which teenagers are legally prohibited from adult activities B) A sanctioned period of identity exploration in which the consequences of experimentation are suspended C) A developmental phase characterized by cognitive stagnation D) The transitional period between childhood and biological maturity

Question 14. James Marcia's "moratorium" status in his model of adolescent identity development refers to:

A) A commitment to an identity without prior exploration B) Neither commitment to an identity nor active exploration C) Active identity exploration without yet making a commitment D) A completed process of identity exploration and commitment

Question 15. The Snapchat "Discover" section was primarily designed to:

A) Help users find new friends with similar interests B) Provide a media destination that could support advertising revenue C) Allow users to search for public accounts by location D) Surface users' old snaps from their own archive

Question 16. Which of the following best describes the "anxiety displacement effect" as described in the chapter?

A) Snapchat's ephemerality eliminated social media anxiety entirely B) The anxiety of the permanent record was replaced by new anxieties specific to Snapchat's design C) Snapchat users transferred their anxiety from digital life to physical social situations D) The anxiety created by streaks was displaced onto the Snap Map feature

Question 17. Research comparing Snapchat content to Instagram content from the same users found that Snapchat content was:

A) More edited and polished than Instagram content B) Less emotionally expressive than Instagram content C) More likely to depict negative emotions and unflattering moments D) Primarily text-based rather than visual

Question 18. The concept of FOMO — fear of missing out — is described in the chapter as:

A) A primarily cognitive experience with no physiological component B) A significant mediator between social media use and mental health outcomes C) Unique to Snap Map and not found in relation to other social media features D) A phenomenon primarily affecting adults rather than teenagers

Question 19. Laurence Steinberg's research on adolescent risk sensitivity suggests that teenage brains:

A) Are structurally identical to adult brains in all relevant respects B) Weight social rewards and punishments less heavily than adult brains C) Weight social rewards and punishments more heavily and discount future consequences more steeply D) Are more sensitive to physical risk than social risk compared to adult brains

Question 20. The chapter describes Snapchat's business model tension as:

A) A unique ethical failure of Snap's leadership that could be resolved with better management B) A structural feature of ad-supported social media that affects every company operating within it C) A temporary challenge that Snapchat resolved by moving away from advertising D) A tension that is unique to ephemeral platforms and does not affect other social media companies

Question 21. According to the chapter, what percentage of teenagers who reported significant streak engagement described "streak anxiety" as a regular feature of their daily experience?

A) 5% B) 15% C) 30% D) 45%

Question 22. The chapter's main argument about the relationship between ephemerality and anxiety is best summarized as:

A) Ephemerality successfully eliminated social media anxiety among Snapchat users B) Ephemerality was always an illusion because screenshots preserved content C) Ephemerality reduced certain anxieties while creating new and distinct ones through features like streaks and Snap Map D) Ephemerality increased anxiety because users could not reference past conversations

Answer Key

1. B
2. C
3. B
4. B
5. B
6. B
7. D
8. C
9. C
10. B
11. C
12. B
13. B
14. C
15. B
16. B
17. C
18. B
19. C
20. B
21. B
22. C