Friendship is one of the most important things in life. But in today’s society, some things are really bringing down the value of friendship. And one of those things, is Snapchat.

   Don’t get me wrong, I actually love using Snapchat. I enjoy being able to communicate with my friends through the app, but there is one part to it that just haunt me. And that part is the number followed by the little fire emoji next to someone’s username which shows the amount of consecutive days both of you have snapped each other. Also known as a “streak”.

   I don’t have a problem with neither the number nor the fire emoji it is followed by. I have a problem with the symbolism behind those characters on the screen.

   The worst thing that can happen when using snapchat is when you open a snap and it is a pitch black screen with the word “streaks” typed in white font in the middle of it.

   If that ever happens to you, then you are a victim of marginalization.

   Fortunately, you are not alone. I too have experienced that pain. You are just one of the 40 people who just received that same snap. For the same purpose. To keep the streak.

   The person who just mass-snapped 40 people at once does not value your real-life friendship. He/She values the streak. You are only receiving snaps from that person for the purpose of keeping the streak alive.

   You see, while your relationship in real life with that person may be dead, your 143 day streak is still alive and illuminated- thanks to that little fire emoji.

   Prevalent in today’s society? Yes. Forgivable? No.

The problem with snaps that say “Streaks” is that they demoralize friendships.

I’m not just saying that because I’m salty because I received tons of “Streaks” snaps. Snapchat has ruined my relationships with others in the past. People I used to be friends with, I no longer talk to, yet I still keep streaks with them.

See the thing with Snapchat is that it allows you to still be ‘friends’ with someone, even if you don’t talk to them in real life. This may sound great as you will no longer be obligated to make efforts to talk to others, but in reality, it just deprives the life out of your friendship.

Valuing friendship is one of the most important things in our lives. By basically letting snapchat maintain our friendships- our “streaks”- for us, we are selling ourselves short and not valuing one of the most important things in our lives, friendship.

One meaningless snap can actually have a huge effect on our lives in the long run.

So the next time you open up snapchat, just remember, starting a “Streak” on snapchat could mean the end of a friendship in real life.