Social Media Becomes Real
The rising social media app BeReal promotes a positive and real presence online.
October 9, 2022
Social media can be exhausting. Although designed to take users’ minds off the various stresses life brings through thoughtless scrolling, it multiplies stress levels as users worry about their presence online. Popular apps among teens and adults alike, such as Tiktok and Instagram, are designed to keep you glued to your phone as you admire the filtered lives of celebrities, friends, and loved ones.
BeReal, a new social media app quickly rising in popularity, was developed by Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau. Although released in 2020, the network has recently attracted attention through the two creators’ use of Tiktok to promote the app. Essentially, the way BeReal works is at any given point throughout the day, it concurrently alerts users to post their daily “BeReal,” which is a photo taken on both their front and back iPhone cameras. Users have two minutes following the notification – sent at a completely random time – to upload the post, and if they don’t, their friends are alerted that their BeReal was posted late. The feature that differentiates BeReal to other social media apps is that there are no likes, followers, or filters. The app shows users’ genuine selves and whatever activity that the user is doing at that time.
BeReal has a fresh, new concept that has never been seen before on a social media network and even promotes a positive message, don’t be fake on social media! It’s refreshing to see friends come together to keep in touch via the app, not worried about how many likes their post may receive or if the lighting on the post isn’t exactly perfect. Also, since every day the notification is randomly sent to all users of the app simultaneously, it is entertaining to see what everyone else is doing at the same time as you.
Although BeReal is the most real social media platform, the app still has flaws. To start, if you miss your two-minute window to post your “BeReal,” you can still post it at any point throughout the day. This means that anyone can easily be fake on the app and wait to post when they are doing something more fun or ‘post-worthy.’ As a user of the app myself, I have found it easy to feel unmotivated to post my BeReal when the notification is sent due to fear of appearing boring or not looking my very best.
Chelsey Natividad (9) stated when asked about her opinions on the app, saying “I think BeReal prevents users from being fake, unlike the other social media apps I have. I mean, the whole point of the app is to post a photo on time and capture yourself at the moment.” She then proceeded to share, “I recommend BeReal to anyone thinking about downloading it because it’s cool to know what your friends are doing at the exact same time as you.”
BeReal is a fun app that hopefully starts a new trend: authenticity in our little digital worlds.
