Streaks are well-known for their presence on the social media platform, Snapchat. Known for its numerous filters, best friends lists, snap scores and disappearing messages, Snapchat has found itself to be a staple on the phones of many teenagers and young adults.Â
The concept of sending or establishing a streak is based on continually sending snaps, the name given to pictures sent, to another individual on a daily basis, typically in recurring 24-hour periods. This is often denoted with an icon of your choosing, but most commonly a fire emoji. It is an expertly conducted method of ensuring activity on the app. By visually representing your communication with a friend, you are incentivized to maintain communication. A snap streak can represent many things, but commonly, it can symbolize the strength and dedication of a friendship.Â
Often, the length of the streak is believed to be synonymous with a pair of friends’ commitment; therefore, the longer the streak, the stronger the friendship.
Communicating with friends has adapted with the times, and Snapchat is an example of that evolution. It has been and continues to be a form of communication for friends and family since 2011. However, it is not just a source of carefree laughs and jokes amongst filters: a snap streak can be a source of anxiety.Â
In 2021, I was addicted to maintaining my Snapchat streaks. I would get on the app to simply send a vague picture of the sky, a wall or the ceiling with the word “streaks” on the picture. Some days I would remember to send it in the morning, or I would be scrambling to send it before midnight. I was embarrassed to say that my contact with the app did not extend further than maintaining a number next to a fire emoji, so I quit. I deleted the app and washed my hands of it. Now I am watching my younger sister learn the same lesson as she reconciles with losing her 429-day streak.Â
Snapchat is smart in the method it utilizes to maintain its users’ attention. The act of tallying demonstrates consistency, which is an attribute necessary when developing a habit, even if using Snapchat feels like an addiction.
James Clear is an author focused on psychology, neuroscience and philosophy. His book, “Atomic Habits,” has recently risen to fame for its impactful suggestions and commentary about building and breaking habits, which litter our daily lives. In the novel, he says, “A habit is a routine or behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically.” Streaks can feel like a compulsion or a requirement in a daily routine. They are performed regularly by people of all ages.Â
Streaks, like habits, can be built and broken. Like Clear said, a habit is a routine, but streaks are a simple method by which this routine is tracked. We all have our collections of habits, good and bad. I considered my attention to my snap streak a bad habit, but I do not consider my more than 150-day Wordle streak to be a bad habit. So that begs the question: can streaks be positive?
Healthy
Counting daily engagement with a routine is a great method to record progress, if it is beneficial to the individual mentally, emotionally or physically. It promotes motivation.Â
1. Wordle
Wordle, the five-letter word guessing game distributed by the New York Times (NYT), is an implementer of streaks to track progress and incentivize users to download their app to avoid closing out the Wordle tabs on their computers. Individuals can also receive badges for different streak lengths, like 150.Â
Similar to my realization with Snapchat, I noticed after the Amazon Web Service’s (AWS) outage, affecting a large portion of the eastern United States in October of 2025, that my completed Wordle was not saved on their servers. This caused me to realize that I had a strong compulsion to maintain my Wordle streak.Â
I started my Wordle streak on my first day of college with the intention of establishing a good habit in the mornings to get the ball rolling. I was consistent every morning until the AWS outage occurred. That day, I finished my Wordle, like every morning, but to my surprise, it was not saved; therefore, my once-finished Wordle, LIMBO, disappeared. This was the word to end my streak. How low could one go? I went from a streak of 60 to 0 overnight, even though I played the game. Luckily, through email correspondence with the NYT, I was able to reinstate my Wordle streak. But should a number matter that much? Enough for me to email the company to reinstate it? Or had I gone too far?
2. Duolingo
Duolingo, a language learning app with a feisty owl, also utilizes the concept of streaks. By tracking language learners’ completion of lessons on a daily basis, it retains its users; therefore, ensuring that they are continuing to learn, even in short increments, even if it is just to maintain a number. Duolingo does have some interesting features like friend streaks, which are helpful to encourage your friends to keep up their lessons. They also have the opportunity to purchase streak freezes, so mistakes can happen. I can testify that mistakes do happen and days are missed.
Streak recording is common in language learning apps because they want to encourage language retention. This week, I was talking to my friend, and she stated that her dad has been using Duolingo daily since she started high school. He has a streak of over 4,000.Â
3. Streaks
Streaks is an app developed by the company Crunchy Bagel with the intention of utilizing streaks in a positive fashion. It is designed to record habits on a daily or custom routine basis. It is like a to-do list with habits. It will also provide data in the form of graphs for its users to illustrate their progress. I have yet to use this app, but it is an example of how streaks are being utilized to positively implement healthy habits.Â
Unhealthy
Streaks can be categorized as unhealthy because they feel compulsory. It is an incentive to engage in a routine that is not beneficial to an individual mentally, emotionally or physically. Snapchat streaks would fall into this category, in my experience, but not every app fits so nicely into a box of good or bad. Lines can be blurred from healthy to unhealthy. A study about running streaks found that participants would run through injuries and sicknesses to maintain a number rather than prioritizing their health. Participants are implementing a healthy habit that benefits them physically, but depending on their mindset, it could also hurt them physically if negligent of other health factors.
Streaks have the potential to be mentally and physically beneficial or harmful. It depends on how you wield them. Be careful of the habit you are building.