Do you live and breathe Snapchat streaks? Are you constantly checking your phone and stressing about sending snaps to each and every one of your streak partners before the 24 hour window closes? If so, you‘re definitely not alone. Maintaining daily "streaks" of snaps with friends has become a cultural phenomenon among Snapchat‘s primarily Gen Z user base.
But while streaks can be a fun way to keep in touch and compete with your inner circle, the pressure to keep them going can also be pretty intense and time-consuming, especially as your streak list grows. Luckily, Snapchat has introduced a handy feature called "Shortcuts" that allows you to send a snap to all your streaks at once with a single tap.
In this ultimate guide, we‘ll dive into exactly how to set up and use the Shortcuts feature to simplify your streak maintenance routine. But we‘ll also take a deeper look at the psychology behind the streak trend, and what it says about communication and relationships in the digital age. No matter how you feel about streaks, understanding why they‘ve become so important to many Snapchatters can offer valuable insights into the ever-evolving social media landscape.
What are Snapchat streaks and why do they matter?
First, let‘s make sure we‘re all on the same page about what Snapchat streaks actually are. A streak is created when you and a friend have sent each other direct snaps (not chat messages) within 24 hours for at least three days in a row. Once you hit that three day mark, a little flame emoji (?) will appear next to your friend‘s name in your chat list, along with a number showing how many consecutive days you‘ve kept the streak alive.
Easy enough. But where things get interesting is just how important maintaining these streaks has become to many Snapchat users, especially teenagers and young adults. What started as a simple way to keep track of your most consistent Snapchat interactions has morphed into a competitive metric of social clout and dedication to online friendships.
For many streak-obsessed users, the goal is to get those streak numbers as high as possible and to have streaks going with as many friends as you can. There‘s a sense of accomplishment and pride in watching those numbers tick up each day, and in showing off your long-running streaks. Some Snapchatters even buy custom filters and lenses to celebrate big streak milestones.
Streak stats and impact
Let‘s take a look at some eye-opening stats that illustrate just how big of a deal streaks have become:
- 63% of Snapchat users under 25 say they feel pressure to keep their streaks going
- The average Snapchatter has 20 active streaks at a time
- The highest recorded Snapchat streak is over 2000 days long
- 97% of Snapchat users say keeping streaks is a way to show they care about a friendship
- Snapchat has seen a 40% increase in daily active users since introducing streaks and other gamification features
Clearly, streaks have had a major impact on how and why people use Snapchat, and have helped the app solidify its position as one of the most popular and engaging social media platforms, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z. By gamifying communication and introducing a quantifiable metric of friendship, streaks tap into core psychological drivers like competition, consistency, and social validation.
But the pressure to keep so many streaks going every single day can be stressful and distracting, taking time and energy away from actual meaningful interaction. A lot of streak-focused users resort to sending the same generic photo to all their streaks each morning – a behaviour so common it‘s earned the nickname "streak spam". Shortcuts aims to eliminate the burden of streak spam while still allowing you to reap the social benefits of maintaining streaks.
How to use Snapchat Shortcuts to send all streaks at once
Alright, now that we grasp the context and magnitude of the streak phenomenon, let‘s get into the nitty gritty of how to make the process of keeping all those streaks alive as frictionless as possible. The Shortcuts feature was introduced in 2022 and has quickly become a favourite trick of streak pros.
The concept is simple – create a friend group shortcut containing everyone you have streaks with, so you can mass send your streak snap to all of them in a single tap instead of having to go through and select each person one by one. Here‘s how to do it:
Step 1: Take your streak snap
Open the Snapchat app and take a photo or video as usual (it can be of anything, don‘t overthink it!). Before sending, tap the blue arrow in the bottom right corner. This will pull up your "Send To" screen showing all your Snapchat friends, sorted with your most frequent interactions at the top.
Step 2: Make a "Streaks" shortcut
From the "Send To" screen, tap the blue "New Shortcut" button at the very top. Name your shortcut something identifiable like "Streaks", choose an emoji to represent it, then go through and select every friend you currently have an active streak with (they‘ll be the ones with the ? emoji next to their name). Hit the checkmark to create the shortcut.
Step 3: Send to all with one tap
With your shortcut created, it should now appear at the top of your "Send To" list. Just tap the emoji to instantly select everyone in that group, then tap the blue arrow to send your streak snap to all of them at once. It literally could not be easier! Your snap will be sent as an individual message to each recipient, so no need to worry about accidental group chats.
Btw, you can create up to 60 shortcuts with a max of 100 friends in each (if you have more streaks than that, weird flex but ok). If you need to edit or update an existing shortcut, just tap and hold down on it from the Send To screen.
Advanced Shortcuts use cases
Beyond just using Shortcuts for streaks, more creative Snapchatters have discovered other handy applications, like:
- Creating separate shortcuts for different friend groups (e.g. "College besties", "Coworkers", "Lizzo stans") to easily send snaps to specific circles
- Automatically saving shortcuts to your Snap Map so you can quickly see which friends are hanging out nearby
- Organizing shortcuts into folders by category or occasion for easy access and sharing
The possibilities are endless! Well, maybe not endless, but you get the idea. Shortcuts are a super powerful tool for hardcore Snapchat users looking to optimize their experience and make staying connected as seamless as possible.
Tips for maintaining streaks like a pro
Now that you know the secret weapon to effortlessly sending streaks, here are a few more tricks to level up your streak game:
Post to your story daily: Posting to your public story counts towards your streaks the same way sending individual snaps does. So if you‘re in a rush, uploading to your story is a quick way to keep those numbers climbing without spamming individual friends.
Schedule streak time: The key to avoiding broken streaks is consistency. Try to get in the habit of sending your mass streak snap around the same time each day, like during your morning routine or on your commute. You can even set a recurring phone alarm to remind you.
Bank snaps in your memories: Since streak snaps don‘t have to be in-the-moment, you can take a bunch of random photos and videos in advance and save them to your Memories to use later. Just slap a generic "streaks" caption on it and no one will know the difference.
Customize streak reminders: By default, Snapchat will notify you a few hours before a streak is about to end. But you can go into your settings and customize how far in advance you want to be reminded, from 2 hours to a full 24 hours.
Have grace for streak slips: With so many streaks to juggle, it‘s inevitable that you might drop one every now and then, and that‘s ok! Don‘t shame yourself or others for occasionally prioritizing IRL experiences over a meaningless number. Streaks are meant to be fun, not a source of anxiety.
Focus on meaningful interactions: At the end of the day, while streaks can be a great way to stay in touch and express care for online friendships, nothing beats a heartfelt one-on-one conversation. Use your streak routine as a jumping off point for more substantial interactions throughout the day.
The future of Snapchat streaks
Snapchat streaks have undoubtedly made their mark on social media and youth culture, but what‘s next? Some experts predict that as the initial novelty and hype around streaks starts to fade, users will become less interested in getting their numbers up and more focused on leveraging the connective power of the app in more authentic ways.
One possibility is that streaks will evolve from a mere count of consecutive snaps into a more robust measure of interaction and intimacy over time. Snapchat has already started to move in this direction with the introduction of its "Friendship Profiles" feature in 2020, which aggregates all the content and memories you‘ve shared with a particular friend into a private overview page celebrating your relationship.
Ultimately though, only time will tell what the future holds for Snapchat and social media as a whole. But one thing‘s for sure – as long as there are young people looking for ways to socialize and express themselves digitally, Snapchat and tools like streaks that help facilitate those connections will continue to play a major role.
Conclusion
Snapchat streaks have become a defining characteristic of the app and a cultural force among young digital natives. While the gamified pressure to keep streaks going every day has its downsides, it‘s also an undeniably compelling way to maintain relationships and compete for social capital in an increasingly online world.
By using the Shortcuts feature to dramatically simplify the streak upkeep process, you can continue to reap the social rewards of streaks without letting them take over your life. Combined with the other tips and context shared here, you‘re now equipped to become a bona fide streak master.
But remember, no matter what your streak score is or how many people you have on your best friends list, what really matters is the depth and quality of your connections. Don‘t let a silly little number get in the way of what Snapchat is truly about – having fun and staying close with the people you care about most. Happy snapping!
