When Snapstreaks were introduced to the Snapchat application, users went crazy. The introduction of this feature allowed users to analyze or measure the strength and commitment of their relationships, platonic or not, based on the length of a Snapstreak. At least, that is what users have come to understand its purpose as, according to a Business Insider analysis.

However, putting a number on a friendship diminishes the value of that relationship, placing an immense amount of pressure on both parties to continue the streak, even if it may be exhausting or uninteresting. Why, you might ask? Because whoever breaks the streak first is the one who cares less about the relationship and doesn’t invest as much effort or time into the commitment to keep the streak going. A streak represents the commitment a user has to communication, and communication is the key to a successful relationship, as my mother always said.

The level of communication for Snapstreaks is extremely low. So, how representative is a Snapstreak of a user’s relationship? Most days, users wake up and send a picture with the caption “streak” before going about their day. Then, they end the day with the same caption and another basic and uninteresting photo to close the night before they head to bed. Despite the fact that the streaks are supposed to help deepen a relationship and allow others to see snippets of your more private life in a more authentic lens, according to a professional project and study from Marquette University, my experience and those of my friends have shown that streaks are a trivial and inaccurate measure of relationship strength. While you might maintain interpersonal communication for a long amount of time, conversations occur rarely in reality.

Instead of sending a basic “streak” photo to your contacts, hold a real conversation. You might discover the true strength of the relationship you hold with that 365 day-plus streak.

It would be superficial to say that Snapstreaks are a large part of meaningful relationships. The whole existence of a Snapstreak can be made up of only one picture sent between two people at least once a day — even if that picture is of a plain background with no caption at all. So, no, they do not have much significance in relationships. The reason I’m advocating for their importance is because they can display a pattern in relationships that might signal abnormalities in one’s life or mental state.

I am definitely the type of person to keep up with Snapchat streaks. It is almost routine for me to get ready for the day, send a picture of my morning coffee, and receive pictures of my friends’ dogs, post-morning workouts, or “I’m late to work again” Snapchats in return.

When life seemed to get in the way of things recently, my friends slowly saw a decrease in my communication with them. The emojis next to each other’s Snapchat names disappeared and was an indication to them that something unusual was going on. This, combined with the numerous texts I left unanswered, led my friends to reach out with concern. They cited my lack of communication as a sign that something was wrong.

I find that I tend to shut down when faced with problems, so ignoring my phone is the best way for me to deal with issues at hand. I’m lucky enough to have friends to vent to every day, and I’m thankful that they noticed this — even if it is just because of a Snapstreak.