The Streak: Snapchat Perseverance and Existential Questions

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By Justin Porter*

365 days.  52 weeks. 8,760 hours. 525,000 minutes - you get the point.

That’s how long Cazey and I have Snapchatted each other. The frequency of our Snaps has now reached a new milestone, this time in quantitative data.

‘The Streak,” as we call it, began on March 23, 2015. We have Snapchatted for over 365 consecutive days.  And while that number should strike awe into the hearts of every Smartphone user, let us wow you even more.

For the length of our streak:

  • Neither of us has lived within 100 miles of each other (though we actually find it harder to Snap when we are together, because can’t we just say aloud what we’re thinking instead of Snapping it? Alas, we still manage to Snap each other from opposite ends of the living room when together).
  • I spent 58 days in Europe during months 3 and 4 of the Streak (that’s May and June 2015), always on the hunt for WiFi and iced coffee. While I rarely had time to contact my loved ones back home, I still managed to Snapchat Cazey each day of my epic adventures.
  • Cazey himself went abroad twice, one time actually losing his phone charger and terrified his phone might die before he made it back to the States and the Streak would die with it.

Once I returned from Europe in 2015, we spent the summer on opposite sides of the Chesapeake Bay before I moved to Washington, D.C. (how mid-Atlantic millennial of me) – well, actually, Arlington if this is a confessional – and Cazey stayed put in Richmond. Through all these gauntlets, neither of us has let the Streak die.

I started two new jobs, Cazey continued grad schooling (when will he graduate?), but our number one priority has always remained the streak.

At day 100, Snapchat graced us with a special 100 emoji as if we aced our third grade quiz on all the State capitals. What would happen at day 365? (Nothing. That’s what. What the heck, Snapchat?)

Cazey snaps while under the influence of anesthesia.

Cazey snaps while under the influence of anesthesia.

But there comes an hour when you realize you’ve come too far, climbed too high, fought too long, to give up your throne. Even once we reached a year, we couldn’t stop. How far could we take it? How long could we go? What mortals could we best?

Are we even mortal at this point?

While leaves have come and gone and presidential campaigns fallen, we have persevered. We have even faced nature’s most ruthless attempts to end our reign. We’re looking at you, Joaquin and Jonas.

Does anyone remember the winter storm Jonas? As most know, most of the Northeast froze over during this time, but I assure you, Cazey’s and my phone did not freeze (unless it from the Snapping). We amassed a few hundred snaps during this five-day hibernation.

A few favorites:

Yes, I did go to Nellie’s.

March 2016 brought us to the homestretch.

Cazey flew to Denmark, and I continued commuting to work at 5 am every morning with a prerequisite Snap of the dark while Cazey Snapped me the sunlight.

We could not let the Streak fail. And we didn’t.

The day came: March 23, 2016. I awoke at 5 AM as per usual with a barrage of Snaps from Cazey exclaiming, “THE STREAK!” Sure enough, we had done it. And not only had we gone a year, we went a leap year. 366 days.

BOOYAH.

Justin doesn't know yet Cazey inserted this into blog *upside down smiley*

Justin doesn't know yet Cazey inserted this into blog *upside down smiley*

But now what? Where was our press coverage? Would Buzzfeed write an article about us? Would Oprah invite us onto her show?

None of this happened. Cazey waited for the texts and emails for about an hour (or maybe less) and then realized no one cared. Should he send out a press release? Would they care then?

What was the record for Snapchat streaks? If you ask Google, there’s no clear answer. Maybe this is why we weren’t famous yet.

As the day closed, we faced with another daunting question:

What did we do tomorrow?

Of course, we only know one way: we continue Snapping. But how long can we go? When do we put the Streak down?

Thankfully, we’ve yet to face that answer. As of today, we’re on our 476th day of Snapping. Thank you, thank you. We appreciate the congratulations and admirations.

But we worry. An end approaches at some point. At what point is the Streak so demanding that we must retake control of our lives? Have we already lost control of our lives? Will the death of our Streak be the terminus of our friendship? Will we able to continue as friends if one of us trips up in the future and kills the Streak?

Will we?

(Oprah, we’re willing to talk about these things on your show. You can tweet us at @jport93 and @cazeyw, and we can arrange a date to talk about our milestones.)

Also, don’t let us know if you have Snapped longer than us. We don’t believe you.

*Justin Porter graduated from James Madison University in May 2015. You can tweet him or like his photos on Instagram, or better yet, Snap him and Cazey at porterj93 and cazeyw. If you are interested in guest blogging for ATOB, email us at AsToldOverBrunch@gmail.com.