Snapchat: A social media app released in 2011 which allows users to send pictures and messages that are usually only available for a short time until they disappear forever. The phenomenon that occurred when this app became available at our pre-pubescent fingertips was legendary. We were obsessed, and a little too dedicated.
Along with sending photos and videos to your friends, if you were consistent with communication and both parties sent a picture multiple days in a row, a snapchat “streak” will appear. The effort put into keeping these streaks alive can be exhausting, similar to how athletes may feel on the field. In a game-like fashion, friends will give each other their passwords if they were anticipating not being able to respond to their “streaks” so they could log on and preserve them.
I believe that in the early days of Snapchat, the maintenance of “streaks” could be justified as a sport. The adrenaline rush you’d receive when seeing the hourglass emoji next to your friends username was unbearable, and this was totally justified for a middle schooler.
However, Snapchat has evolved since the days when this behavior was deemed appropriate. Nowadays, users typically use their private stories to overshare their lives with close friends and family, or to keep up with what their crush is doing.
Snapchat “streaks” in the year 2022 are not considered a sport, and if you’re still nudging your friends to reciprocate your virtual confirmation that you Snapchatted each other daily, this is your reality check.
