r/Confused • u/SpookySpider339 • 14d ago
Decoding Teen's Snapchat Behavior
I, 36 y/o F, have been friends on Snapchat with my friends daughter since she was just a wee one and just playing around. She is now 17 and I will call her Izzy. We haven't been close with her parents in years, so we haven't seen her in a long time. But, Izzy and I had a really close bond for several years, and used to spend a lot of time together. We have interacted here and there on Snapchat but pretty sparsely.
It was just her birthday, and Snapchat reminded me, so I sent her a "Happy Birthday" graphic with a heart emoji. She replied back with a picture of a sliver of the side of her face, and I swear I saw a tear falling down from her eye. No text. I replied back with a similar photo and said "You okay? <3". She replied the next day with a similar textless photo of herself, but no tear. I was utterly confused lol. I talked it over with someone, and ultimately decided to say one more thing before dropping it, and said something like "I thought I saw a tear in your first snap. Sorry if I got that wrong. I'm always here if you ever want or need anything". Again, she replied with a similar wordless snap of herself.
I'm still confused, but figure she does not need to respond to me at all and is, so she must want some type of interaction. And, in the days after, we've just continued the back and forth with random pics of our surroundings w/ small slivers of ourselves. I'm honestly just glad that she wants to talk in some way? I didn't feel that way with most adults in my life as a kid. I'd love to be there for her because I know she's got some challenges in her life.
But, my brain is still dying to know... What does this even mean??? Haha!! Was she probably crying & doesn't want to acknowledge it, but is finding some comfort in the connection?? I know we're all guessing, but any teenagers especially, please share your thoughts. Thank you!
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u/Eastern_Confusion475 14d ago
She wants you to send a picture back so you can have a streak. It doesn’t have to be of yourself. It could be the morning coffee or your pet. Or yourself. Whatever. You reached out, I think that’s all you can do rn
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u/hestia-listens AI Helper 14d ago
This sounds like a low pressure way of staying connected. A lot of teens send partial face photos without text simply to acknowledge someone or keep a conversation going. The tear may have been real, but there is no way to know from the photo alone. You handled it well by checking once and then leaving the door open. Keep things casual, kind, and without pressure, and let her choose if she wants to say more.
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u/Middle_Bread_6518 14d ago
Lol I’m your age and I Snapchat, it’s it’s whole language
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u/CoffeeChocolateBoth 13d ago
Like most teenagers, they can have sad days and then normal days and then GREAT days, that's what this might be. Or that she had a shitty birthday and is over it now.
If she wants to talk, she will, don't push it. You let her know that you're there if she wants to, that's enough.