You Unlocked a 3 Day Streak

October 23, 2024


I cannot be the only person who is starting to get tired of everything having a streak.

It all started when Snapchat added streaks. They probably weren't the first, but they definitely are the first to make it big. If you and a friend sent a picture to each other for 3 days in a row, you would unlock a streak. Every day you sent a picture, the streak would go up by one. This was a fun feature, especially for a quirky messaging app. But it was also genius, as it made people have a reason to come back each day. I would say most of the pictures sent on Snapchat are sent just to fill streaks. And it's working. I have a streak of over 1,200 days with my grandma.

I'm surprised more platforms didn't implement streaks sooner. Streaks mostly became a thing for mobile games and goal-based applications. However, recently streaks have been popping up in a lot more places.

The worst offender is TikTok, and the implementation is so dumb, I don't even know how you can call it a streak. According to the streak help page, you get streaks by sending messages back and forth for 3 days. That is fine. But the dumb thing is that streak restores exist, and they're so generous with them that losing a streak means nothing. I just don't like the streaks because if I dare to message someone 3 days in a row I'm suddenly being forced into a daily messaging commitment.

Another recent implementation of streaks has been Reddit. Recently Reddit added achievements, which are functionally the same as but completely separate from trophies. Trophies are gained by participating in events, while achievements are gained by using basic app features. Some of these achievements include having a streak, and these achievements go up to 500 days.

The final platform, and this one doesn't really count, is Instagram. Unlike the other platforms, streaks on Instagram is a kinda hidden feature, and I wouldn't include it in a list of apps with streaks. However, it's still there, so might as well acknowledge it. If you have a professional account, you can gain trophies. These are more made for people who run businesses, so instead you mostly get them for sharing content to the platform. There are also challenges you can participate in, and one of these challenges is sharing a story every day for a week. And once you complete it, you get the badge, and then nothing else happens.

I get why some people enjoy streaks, but for me they're just annoying and stressful. Plus, I don't need to check into something every single day. However, until given the option of opting out, I guess I'm just forced to participate.