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.