The popularity of the BeReal app has skyrocketed over the last few months. With over more than 43 million downloads since its launch, it is encouraging people to bring back authenticity to the social media landscape (Stabile, 2022). How does it work? At any random time, the app notifies its users once a day to capture a photo that shows what they are up to at that moment. Your friends are closer to you than ever and through this unique way, you discover what they are really up to.
The photo-sharing app is founded in 2020 and aims to show candid content, acting like an “anti-social” social media platform (Margorian, 2022). Unlike social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook, interactions at BeReal are limited and do not allow users to use filters. Photos are taken from both the front and back camera within seconds, therefore avoiding showing “picture-perfect” or highly edited content. In fact, it acts as a counter-response to current social media influencers in which trendy, manipulated, and filtered photos are shown (Stabile, 2022).
Moreover, the firm does not feature any paid advertising. Due to networking effects, it has quickly grown and keeps users engaged with gamification strategies (Wade, 2022). To illustrate, it cleverly makes use of scarcity as users are only limited to posting one photo per day. Moreover, there is an element of mystery as the notification can show up at any time of the day. On top of this, the photo will disappear after 24 hours, which is an incredible motivator for users as they do not want to miss out on anything (Wade, 2022).
Despite the popularity and novelty, there are still concerns. People could get frustrated as they wait for the notification, being tied to their phones. Additionally, due to the increased usage, technical issues are common and fixing bugs is one of BeReal’s key challenges. Furthermore, privacy issues remain present due to third-party cookies, geolocation, and data storage (Mcgowan, 2022).
All in all, the popularity of BeReal is expected to change the way social media platforms act. With the main users being Gen Z, it becomes evident there is a need for real human interaction. Other social media platforms, such as TikTok, are already following in the footsteps of BeReal, adding similar functions to their platform. Young people crave an authentic online experience, indicating that BeReal is here to stay. It will be interesting to see how BeReal could outlast its virality with viability in the long term and the development of a commercial business model.
References
Stabile, A. (2022). BeReal takes off: New social media app is considered ‘anti-Instagram’. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/bereal-new-social-media-app-considered-anti-instagram
Margorian, A. (2022). Some 20-Year-Olds Explain the “Honest Instagram” App That’s Sweeping the Youths. Retrieved from https://slate.com/human-interest/2022/05/bereal-app-guide-explained.html
Wade, E. (2022). Social network BeReal shares unfiltered and unedited moments from our lives – will it last? Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/social-network-bereal-shares-unfiltered-and-unedited-moments-from-our-lives-will-it-last-188643
Mcgowan, E. (2022). BeReal has good intentions, but does its privacy hold up? Retrieved from https://blog.avast.com/bereal-safety
I think the BeReal app is a great idea, and I love that it encourages people to be more authentic on social media. I think that the app has a lot of potential, but I also believe that some concerns need to be addressed. I think the app could be very addictive, and I believe some privacy concerns need to be addressed. But overall, I think the BeReal app is a great idea, and I believe it has a lot of potential. You really gave a neat overview on what we are talking about here!
Thank you for writing about BeReal. It is definitely a new trending app that is also adopted by a lot of people from our age (perhaps more than TikTok). I am curious to hear about how “real” you find BeReal? I do think it is a good attempt to enforce people to showcase their more regular day to day activities instead of only posting about the best days of their lives and making everything picture perfect. However, when a BeReal comes early and my friends who downloaded the app have something fun planned later that day, they tend to save the BeReal to later that day. Or they ask as much people as possible “do you want to be on my BeReal?” to make what their doing at that moment seem more fun than it perhaps is. Also when the BeReal comes late, they are annoyed that the fun moments of the day already have passed. To me this is not really “real”. What is your opinion on this? I would love to hear your thoughts!
As you can maybe read from my comment, I am not a big social media person, but I do find it really interesting to see why people tend to think that this app is more “real” than the other social media apps. So I am curious to read more comments purely to understand the traction of the app.
Nice post! I personally use BeReal and I think it is interesting to see how the app has skyrocketed. Nevertheless it’s necessary to think about the associated dangers. For example, the notification could pop up during work time, and someone might be breaching their organization’s guidelines by sharing company data on their laptop screen. This might sound like an obvious risk to consider before taking a photo, but it does happen a lot and I have personally seen this happening in my feed too. I wonder if and how BeReal would ever address these workplace issues. It is clear that organizations have to start redefining their social media policies or start putting more emphasis on educating employees about the risks concerned with disclosing/misusing the organization’s confidential information.
Interesting! I also use the app myself and I think it’s a great concept. I didn’t know there were so many clever tricks behind it. No filters and no hours of distraction, but being in touch with your friends is exactly what you want from a social media platform. Showing the perfect picture in which everyone is always happy and on holiday is not an issue here. I am a fan!!