Through social media, different forms of communication have become limitless with boundaries disappearing due to easy accessibility. Social networks offer opportunities for people to reconnect with old friends, make new friends, share ideas, and stay updated with the latest information. 

Snapchat has become increasingly popular since it was released in 2011, one of the biggest features being the “streaks” people have with each other. The whole idea is that you stay in contact with whoever you are snapchatting for multiple days in a row. The number next to their name becomes visual proof of how long you have been snapchatting that other person.

However, younger generations have made this concept the center of their social media life. People have been observed to be paying more attention to their screens in general, more so than individuals around them. For some, life practically revolves around social media. “The point of Snapchat is to converse while sharing pictures of the exciting moments going on around you. They say that a picture paints 1,000 words, but a black screen that says ‘streak,’ only paints one,” wrote Kathryn Kostovetsky on her article submitted to the Odyssey. 

Numbers can be the reason that people are entangled in the craze of social media. Some people only partake in Snapchat streaks to keep connections. Still, only 74% of survey responses say they most definitely communicate with the people they Snapchat. “I think in some weird way it makes a concrete feeling of friendship,” 16-year-old Jules Spector reported to the Business Insider. “Like, you can talk to someone everyday, but a streak is physical evidence that you talk every day.”

Being “left on open” on Snapchat comes with this daunting stigma, when all it means is that the other person has seen your picture or message and didn’t choose to respond. The negative connotation is what the majority of young people associate the action with. Some people have explained in the survey that it is said to be “proof that the other person doesn’t care about them,” or that “they aren’t important enough to respond to.”

“It sort of depends on the situation. It can definitely hurt to be left on read but sometimes it’s a mistake, or the person didn’t think there was a way to respond to it,” said senior Marina Bello. “It’s better to be taken with a grain of salt even if that’s hard to do at times.” Things on social media are often interpreted very literally and it becomes another world that people spend too much time worrying about.

Snapchat streaks didn’t come out until 2016, according to a timeline of the app’s history. The app created streaks to solidify the goal of people using it at least once a day, making people feel dejected whenever a streak was lost. This goal proves that individuals are more than capable of becoming too attached to an idea, easily being manipulated by trends and getting caught up in social pressure. 

Kylie James, sophomore at South, said, “Overall, I think social media tears people apart because people become less social in person.” Instead of spending countless moments and unnecessary energy on streaks and such, young people should utilize more time with the people physically around them.

Although technology does open up a world with new ways of communicating, it can become hard to find a balance where it can benefit everyday life more than hurt it. Social media does have the ability to push people further apart rather than bringing them closer together when everyone is looking down at their screens. The isolation from the real world that social media offers is something that can be avoided as soon as a balance is established between being connected to one another through technology and face-to-face.