Over the years, Snapchat has become one of the most popular apps for people to use to document their day to day lives. Whether people are snapchatting their friends, family, significant others, or just capturing moments for themselves to remember, or to share, Snapchat has something for everyone.
Snapchat was founded in September of 2011 by Evan Siegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown, all Stanford alumni looking to turn their startup project, "Picaboo" into something more. Before "Picaboo" launched as "Snapchat," Brown was bounced from the company. As a result, Siegel and Murphy claimed the fame, and fortune that came along with the app.
It is no secret that high school and college students have been utilizing Snapchat for years. No matter what, we all find ourselves spending more time than we probably should on this app. One of snapchat's most famous, and utilized features is "Snapstreaks."
"Snapstreaks" are the amount of days in a row you send a snapchat to a specific person. The more days you send a snapchat to someone, the higher your "Snapstreak," with them gets. After snapchatting somebody for three days in a row, a fire emoji appears next to their name with the number three next to it, signaling the beginning of a "Snapstreak."
While Snapchat began as an app meant to send different pictures secretly to one another, years went on and Snapchat became a platform for people to communicate through pictures (and sometimes chats). Later "Snapstreaks," came into play, giving the app a whole new meaning.
Sending "Snapstreaks," is all fun and games until the dreaded "Hourglass Timer," appears. This "Hourglass Timer," alerts you that the "Snapstreak," you have with someone is going to die in the near future. The timer typically appears next to someones name when you haven't sent that person you have a "Snapstreak," with a snapchat in about 20 hours.
While having a "Snapstreak," with somebody may signal that you two are close friends, or even just friendly with each other, the reality is that this probably isn't the case. "Snapstreaks," are typically random pictures sent back and forth that have no meaning.
Odds are, you don't communicate with that person unless you are sending them a text worried that your "Snapstreak," is going to break. While "Snapstreaks," have become an integral part of our lives, it has pushed for a decline in human interaction. Hopefully at some point, people will realize the importance of interactions done beyond a cell phone and Snapchat.
