Family Forte: Breaking the Snapchat Streak
By: Topher Wiles on May 18, 2021
It’s not just teenagers that get a thrill from watching the number by the flame grow day by day. People of all ages enjoy the feature that Snapchat has dubbed “streaks”. A 2017 Business Insider article gives us this information on a Snapchat streak. “A Snapchat streak is when you send direct snaps back and forth with a friend for several consecutive days. The longer you go without breaking the chain of communication, the longer your streak is. Snapchat rewards longer streaks with special emojis, such as the ‘100’ emoji for streaks lasting 100 days, or a mountain emoji for an extremely long streak. Many teens (and adults I know) invest an inordinate amount of time keeping streaks alive. There’s nothing more devastating than losing a streak you’ve put months of work into.” 1 (see endnotes)
photocredit: www.cyberdefinitions.com
Snapchat streakers feel strong emotions when considering losing their streaks, as if they are losing a tangible commodity that they’ve worked hard for or losing an actual relationship with a friend. I know anxiety rides high for some Snapchat Streakers when friends don’t snap back in a timely fashion, threatening to reset that precious streak number to zero.
Yet, I think it is entirely healthy to break a Snapchat streak. We aren’t designed to be tethered 365 days a year to our cell phones.
Sadly, I’m one of those people who stay connected as my cell phone serves as my Bible, prayer list, note taking device, to-do list, calendar, and communications hub. The boys and I were taking guesses as to how many notifications I would receive at the end of the two day camping trip when I reached cell signal again. Gabriel won as my 2-day notification tally sent my cell phone into a vibrating spastic seizure surpassing 300 alerts from social media platforms, text messages, and emails. Many of you are like me, tied to your cell phone with constant communications and uses. Many of us are even addicted to our smart phones, Facebook feeds, and Snapchat Streaks. Take a look at some of the information on smartphone addiction from disturbmenot.co.
“Nomophobia is the official term for smartphone addiction—a rising issue in modern society among both the young and the old.
- 53% of the world’s population has a mobile device.
- People tap, swipe, and click an average of 2,617 times per day.
- iPhone users unlock their phones an average of 80 times per day.
- Users spend an average of 2 hours and 51 minutes a day on their smartphones.
- 26% of car accidents are caused by smartphone usage.
- 52% of American teens want to take steps to cut back on their use of smartphones.”3
Over half of American teens would like to cut back that smartphone usage, yet features like the Snapchat Streak count, Facebook Like, Instagram Heart, and Twitter Re-tweet are designed to keep us plugged in and addicted. I recommend looking up the adverse effects of cell phone addictions that are listed on numerous websites, such as psychguides.com. I won’t go into detail here, but I was surprised to read that male infertility, neck strain, OCD, and depression are among issues connected with cellphone over-usage.4
For our family’s strength, health, and relationships, I believe we need to encourage each other to break the Snapchat streaks, because being connected to your cellphone daily for 6+ years is going to have net negative consequences. While it won’t be popular with those addicted, especially teens, (it may potentially induce short term anxiety, irritation, and restlessness) breaking cell phone streaks and addictions needs to happen from time to time for us to rest and focus on the highest priorities in life. Take a camping trip with your kids, go on a cruise with your friends, or declare a “no-cell phone” weekend in your house while you read actual books and do things that make you feel good. Enjoy distraction free time together as a family and focus on God’s blessings around you. My streaks are broken, and I’ve been set free. Consider how you can enjoy freedom with your family too.
“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” – Isaiah 55:12
Endnotes
2 https://suntrics.com/tech-blogs/longest-snapchat-streak-a-brief-guide
3 https://disturbmenot.co/cell-phone-addiction-statistics/
The word “forte” comes from the latin word “fortis” meaning strength. Our weekly Family Forte article in The Expositor is the effort of family at Central Church of Christ to give your family the love, care, and attention it needs to become a stronger version of itself. If we can help you in any way, please contact us at Central Church of Christ through email, topherwiles@spartacoc.com, or through our website, www.christiscentral.org.
I don’t have that but I took Facebook off my phone and feel so free. I look at it sometimes on desktop but not every day.