Our lives are consumed by snapchat

I once watched a girl in the middle of a mall drop shoddily to her knees, roll around on the ground flailing her arms, squinting her eyes and almost tearing up, while screaming: “We lost our streak.”

Now, anyone else might find this scene quite strange or even alarming. However, my level of concern and second hand embarrassment at that moment was only moderate. In fact, I stopped in my tracks to watch because I felt my heart break a little for her. How long was said streak? What if it were over one hundred days? Poor girl.

I realized in that moment how skewed our values are. Think about it: we have assigned an immense and almost disgusting amount of importance to a score that accounts for the number of days in a row we have sent an image to another person. Often those images aren’t even of anything significant. Typically, they are just a blank screen with the word “streak” lazily typed across with the sole purpose of keeping the score going.

I am not one to bash social media, because I am a firm believer that the Internet and other technological advancements have only benefitted our lives thus far. We have the privilege–I’m talking to you, Millennials–of having the world at our fingertips via a computer or phone.

I do not find anything wrong with sharing political videos on Facebook or tweeting funny memes on Twitter. However, I do struggle with the fact that sometimes we become consumed by the unnecessary. Snapchat, I’m sorry, but you really gotta go.

Since the advent of Snapchat in 2011, the way in which it has been used has changed drastically. Snapchat was originally popular for sending nude photos, but *Kermit sips tea* (that’s none of my business). With each update, I have watched users become more and more addicted. I have seen people trip and fall while taking selfies. I’ve seen full blown meltdowns from young adults about someone opening a snap and not answering. We are undoubtedly consumed.

This obsession is not unique to Snapchat. Within a small amount of time, the fixation with the app has spiraled out of our control. I believe that is more than just a mere fascination. With Myspace, the fascination died down and the site was rendered obsolete. I cannot foresee the same outcome for Snapchat.

For some odd reason, flower crown filters and 10  second videos appeal to Millennials tremendously. Our short attention span and our unexplainable affinity for puppy dog overlays have allowed us to become slaves to our phone screens. Because what else is it really giving us, other than a crappy selfie or a high Snapchat score that counts for absolutely nothing?

Instead of impatiently waiting for the next update with new filters and tools on Snapchat, why don’t we actually watch where we are going when we are walking, pay attention in class, and get this—stop caring so much about who we have streaks with. I am by no means against Snapchat, but I think we could all use a little break until we can learn how to use it in moderation.