The app that can make or break friendships
Snapchat streaks and their impact on teen relationships
Like many teens on campus, senior Shae Evans uses Snapchat on a regular basis and even had a friendship affected by a broken streak.
Snapchat has become the most commonly used social media for teens. One extremely popular feature of the app is streaks which is when two people send a snap to each other for consecutive days.
“They [streaks] are very important because they represent my friendship with other people,” sophomore Sani Ali said. “I feel like it is an art. Snapchat filters are used as art, I know lots of people who spend lots of time making their streaks look really cool and I also know people who just send a black screen.”
While Snapchat is a communication tool, streaks can be sometimes become the focus of the communication.
“One day I did try to break all my streaks but then I got the hourglass and people said I would be dead to them,” senior Cydney Dumler said. “People think you are breaking up with them if you break a streak. I have one of 460 that I really want to break but it’s too high to break. It’s so stressful, but I hang out with most of the people I have streaks with outside of school.”
For many teenagers Snapchat can be a way of classifying the level of a friendship, but some students on campus question this thought process.
“Sometimes you send a streak but do you really mean it,” sophomore Fiza Bashir said. “You send a good night streak and a good morning streak but one never puts any thought into it. That’s why I wanted to break all of my streaks because what is the point in just saying goodnight and good morning.”
For most students, some friendships are more like “snapships” with a streak being the sole form of contact. But sometimes real friendships can be affected by a streak ending.
I worry about my streaks every day and every night,
— sophomore Sani Ali
“I didn’t talk to one friend for almost a month because he broke our streak on 99 three times,” senior Shae Evans said. “The first time I was really angry and I wouldn’t sit next to him. I think the second time was on accident but the third I just didn’t want anything to do with him.”
Most Snapchat users also stress out if they happen to accidentally break a streak and feel as if they have broken their friendship as well and usually blame the other person which can lead to minor arguments over not so important problems.
“Whenever I lose a streak I always feel like it is the other person’s fault,” Ali said. “I worry about my streaks every day and every night.”
Dea is a senior who has been doing journalism since her freshman year. She loves movies, reading and listening to music. Her favorite book series is...
