Everyone wants to be liked, especially when it comes to social media. We all strive for likes on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Some of us even take extremes to create posts that will stand out in our friends news feeds. But one metric that has become increasingly popular among Millennials and Gen Z’s is the “snap streak.”
I’m sure many of you have heard of Snapchat. Launched in September of 2011, Snapchat was created by Even Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown. It was originally created to serve as a place for private photo sharing, but the features of Snapchat have definitely evolved throughout the years. One of the features that is seemingly popular among many users is the feature of a snap streak. A snap streak is created when a user sends direct Snapchats back and forth with a friend for a consecutive number of days.
Many Snapchat users strive to maintain a snap streak for long periods of time. I’m sure many of you, if not all of you, have seen friends post stories saying things like, “Happy 100 @snapchatuser.” Having a long snap streak is applauded in many ways, but from what I’ve learned in my experience, the constant demand for attention can be deadly to many friendships. But just how can snap streaks cause friendships to fade? I asked six of my own friends to get an inside look. I am only going to be including the initials to their names, as their privacy is respected.
Question 1: Do you have a Snapchat, and if so, how many Snapchat streaks do you have?
L: Yes, I currently have zero snap streaks.
T: I do have a Snapchat! I have two snap streaks on Snapchat.
E: Yes, I have 10 snap streaks.
J: Yes, I have one snap streak.
T: Of course I do. I have two snap streaks.
H: Yes, I currently have six snap streaks!
Question 2 : Do you value your snap streaks?
L: No, I am an adult.
T: I kind of do, but at the same time I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. It really depends on the person.
E: I honestly do. It’s a great way of staying connected with your friends.
J: I think snap streaks are face value. If they happen, cool. If they don’t, cool.
T: Not at all.
H: Yeah, but I value them because of the distance between my friends and I. It’s usually my only way of communicating with my friends who live far away.
Question 3: If you lose a snap streak, does your relationship with that friend change?
L: My relationships personally don’t, I don’t usually have snap streaks to begin with.
T: No, I think that if you are mature enough you are able to maintain a good relationship with your friends regardless of whether or not you have a snap streak.
E: There have been very few times where my relationships have changed. So I would say, it can change a relationship, but it shouldn’t.
J: Not at all, if that snap streak really meant a lot to you then you can just start it over again.
T: No, I don’t have snap streaks with some of my closest friends. It definitely doesn’t change.
H: It depends on the person, but typically not.
Question 4: Do you think snap streaks solidify friendships, or make them worse?
L: I personally believe that if your friendship is strong enough, you shouldn’t need a streak to know it’s a real and valuable friendship.
T: I don’t think that losing a snap streak makes much of a change. The only thing that would make your friendships worse is if you have the mindset that they do.
E: It definitely solidifies! I will answer a Snapchat way before I answer my text messages. Its my way of communication, but I know not everyone views it that way.
J: Snap streaks have no influence whatsoever. They only matter if you are someone who puts more value into it than you should. As far as my friendships go, they absolutely do not make them either better or worse.
T: I don’t know if I would pick one of these options over the other, I would instead suggest that they do neither.
H: I’d say solidify. But when I feel obligated to snap them back I feel like that’s when it begins to hurt the friendship.
Question 5: On a scale of 1-10, how important are snap streaks to you?
L: Honestly, I’d take it a step lower than 1 and say 0.
T: On a good day, I’d say a solid 1. They aren’t a major deal.
E: A definite T E N. But as I stated before, it is my way of communication. So I value streaks a little more than most people might.
J: 1, as in, the least important.
T: I’d say maybe 2, and that’s maybe.
H: I’d say about a 7.
Beyond interviewing my close friends, I took it even a step further and created a series of Twitter polls. To get the most feedback I could, I created this poll on my private Twitter, which has about 8,000 followers. Listed below are the results of a three hour Twitter poll I created:
After doing primary and secondary research, I came to the conclusion that while snap streaks can be valuable to some, most people don’t care too much about their snap streaks. In my case, I have experienced people who have gotten mad at me for losing a streak, but I personally don’t think Snapchat should be the deciding factor of a friendship. However, to some it is very important – and we should respect that.
What do you think? Do snap streaks have an impact on the way you view your relationships?
Sources:
https://newspringnetwork.com/resources/students/streaks
Taylor Eck 
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