Since its release in 2011, Snapchat has been one of the most popular social media apps of this decade. The app has been through many evolutions in regards to its features and abilities, but perhaps the most prominent is the emergence of the "streaks" feature. Anyone who has Snapchat knows what a streak is, for it is the counted number of days you have continually "snapped" any said person on your friends list. While this is a fun component of Snapchat in that it provides an incentive to visit the app (at least once) everyday, it has also created a sort of competitive atmosphere in an environment which is supposed to be an outlet.
Teenagers have grown accustomed to value the amount of streaks they possess, and oftentimes draw them out with those whom they don't commonly associate with in real life. As teenagers are the primary users of this app, it has become a facet of their culture to collect these "streaks," in the effort fill their pages with incoming Snapchats. Receiving these Snapchats makes us feel important, but it has gotten to the point where teenagers everywhere are lengthening their streaks just for the sole purpose of having them, rather than actually having friendly online interactions with the people whom they share them with.
The attraction of using Snapchat as a communication platform is losing its glow and is, as a result, becoming more and more dull in the face of a generation known for lacking conversation skills. Applications like Snapchat and Instagram are meant to make communication and connection easier between friends whether they be near or far. In order to take full advantage of the privileges these apps provide us, we must use them in a way which we actually interact with one another. We should be learning more about each other in order to further develop ourselves to be impactful in this grand world of ours.
Social media has made our lives expansive. Our scope of the world is much more vast than the secluded groups of people with whom we physically interact with everyday, rather, we have the ability to communicate with people all over the world at any time we please. While some Snapchatters take pride in their collection of streaks, it has become more apparent than ever that they're holding onto them in a mindless game to see who caves first, who fails to keep the streak alive. If users are willing to try so hard to elongate their streaks, they should be utilizing this ability in a way which benefits them in ways apart from their screens. Snapchat should be about discussion and exchange, in efforts to learn more about each other, having been so lucky to be given the ability to do so.
