On January 25th, 2018 I deleted Snapchat. And I haven't looked back since. People have asked me why I decided to do it and what pushed me to delete it, and to be honest, I'm not ready to open up on the real reason behind why I deleted Snapchat. But for months I had been planning on deleting it. Consistent annoyance with keeping up streaks and a build-up of Snapchat stories had been irritating me for months.

I'm not good at keeping streaks, I'll admit it.

I don't really care honestly, it's an arbitrary number and we have plenty of arbitrary numbers in our lives.

Follower count, friend count, like count, all examples of arbitrary numbers, and in the end, those don't matter and those numbers aren't what helps us get through the day. Some people would act like it was the end of the world if I accidentally broke a streak with them, and for others, breaking a streak on purpose became a sign that you didn't want to be that person's friend or you just didn't want to keep a streak with them.

Suddenly, it became so much more than it really was. A number. Just a silly, little, number.

Okay, so I had been complaining about Snapchat for months, big deal. What really pushed me to delete it? The real reason is something that I don't think I can ever open up to publically right now, and frankly, I don't know if I'll ever reveal it. The thing that matters is that because of it, I deleted the app.

In the end, it was sort of a test. Which friends on Snapchat would really notice that I had broken their streak and ask me about it? Which friends actually cared enough to look into why I deleted it? I was happy with the results. I didn't judge the people who didn't bother to ask me about why I suddenly broke their streak and never responded, because, like them, I didn't care much for streaks anyway.

However, deleting Snapchat put things into perspective.

It's been almost three months without Snapchat (I know, shocker) and I can honestly say that I don't regret deleting it. I deleted it right before the new update, and even if I did want to redownload the app, the new interface is truly awful.

Deleting Snapchat was one of the best decisions I made this semester, and I look back and I'm truly glad I did. I was tired of keeping up this facade of happiness when my life was anything but, and I was tired of faking it.

My plan was to initially redownload Snapchat at the end of the semester, but that's not happening anymore. I like my life without Snapchat, so as of right now, I have no intentions to get it back. Am I a little more disconnected from social media than I might usually be? Yes, but I'm happy and it feels like a weight has been lifted, so truthfully I couldn't care less.

I know this entire article screams first world problems, but social media is a huge issue right now.

Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, these apps are constantly having us doubt ourselves, become self-conscious, and even get depressed. It's not worth faking a great life if that's not reality. I sound like I made a big decision, but I really didn't. It's just an app, a meaningless one with meaningless numbers. I recommend that anyone reading this take a look at what social media they are using right now, and try to cut back.

Firstly, your private information (passwords, etc.) is probably already being stolen and distributed by these social media companies, and secondly, put your happiness and well-being first.

It's not the end of the world if you don't see your friend's Snapchat story, or if you don't like her new Instagram picture.