Snapchat. It’s like the Malibu at your pregame, the soft serve at the dining hall, and the last stall of the bathroom. No matter how you use it, it’s everyone’s favorite. But, the problem with the world’s greatest app is the proliferation of meaningless snap-streaks.

Sure, keeping a streak with your best friend from home is a good way to keep in contact, but do you really need to snap Carl from that weird club meeting you went to one time every single day? Absolutely not.

Streaks were fun at first (way back in 2014), but now they seem more like a chore than a pleasurable pastime. We used to smile on that fateful day when we hit a “Snap-aversary,” like 100 days with our bestie, or that cute guy from calculus, but now we wake up every morning with the pressure of maintaining thirty different streaks. What’s worse is that we couldn’t end these streaks even if we wanted to because it’s fourth grade and we’re scared of hurting someone’s feelings.

We’re at the point where we’ve had to devise strategies to remember to keep our streaks. Some people have to set reminders, make a routine of sending them at the same time everyday, or even use a secret emoji code in order to remember which streaks to send and which streaks to end. All the hassle involved in keeping streaks takes the fun out of what was previously a really great app. It seems like now all those little fire emojis bring is ~tension~ , especially if there is an hourglass emoji involved.

The problem is that whether we care to admit or not, we’re all attached to those streaks, even though they’re really just a number. In our media-driven world, it feels like if you end the streak, you end the friendship. But, we’re here to tell you this just isn’t true. Friendship is more than just sending photos with geofilters back and forth all day… It’s holding your friend’s hair back while they pull trig, dragging them back to their room at 3 a.m., things you just can’t experience online!

Although you may think snap-streaks are cementing your friendships, they’re probably preventing you from a true connection with someone. Just think about how many times you and your friends hung out and literally just sat in a room on your phones. We can guarantee that whatever filter you were trying out wasn’t more important than real, face-to-face conversations with people you care about.

We’re not suggesting to and end all of your snap-streaks cold turkey (that would take an insane amount of tolerance for all the people you’re gonna piss off), but try going through your streaks and figure out who you actually enjoy talking to-- people who bring a feeling of JOY into your life. Because, in case you forgot, that was the goal of streaks in the first place: to elicit joy (or at least a nose exhale at a funny dog pic).

The key is to separate the snap from the chat. If you’re interested in talking to someone, then put actual words on the screen! If not, then you might want to think about ending that streak anyways. Start spending that time on self-care, mental health, and forging connections with friends who actually deserve to be on your best friends list. Happy snapping.

Why You Should End All Your Snap-Streaks