I started using BeReal on May 22, 2023. I have kept my streak alive of posting each day and have only been late with my post a few times. I went from zero friends to now having three friends. I am still not sure if I will continue using BeReal or I will stop. I am still figuring it all out. I think that it has a variety of positive aspects as well as negative aspects.
BeReal is a French social media app that was launched in 2020 by Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau. It has a daily notification in which users are encouraged to take a photo in their surroundings in which they are given a random 2 minute time frame. You are given the chance to post one picture per day and recently if you post within your 2 minute time frame you are able to post 2 additional pictures. Here is a Beginners Guide to using BeReal.
I have asked myself since starting if this is just a new Social Media craze or if it is changing of bad habits that we have formed using Social Media platforms and the use of filters and altering our bodies. I found an article on linkedin.com that helped me to make a few decisions on my own. This article highlights pros, cons and mixed feelings about BeReal. The article brought up many feelings I was already having about this platform. Some of these are as follows:
- the use of both the front and back camera. (Very hard to tell what the one camera is taking a picture of.)
- there is no privacy.
- the public shaming. (When posting late all your friends are given a notification letting you know they posted late.)
- they claim they want people to be real and spend less time with their phone but yet with the random time notification to take a picture it makes people want to be more attached to their phone.
- It is having people want to ensure that they are constantly doing things that others would maybe want to see as who wants to post a boring picture?
- How is the company making their money?
The Terms of Service were fairly easy to read even though they were lengthy. They helped me to understand a bit better where the developers were coming from with their Social Media platform. I did appreciate that at the end there was a space where they gave you a way in which to contact them. It says that your content is for your friends unless you agree to have it shared globally.
At the end of this trial with BeReal I am leaning more towards getting rid of the app as I feel the pressure to post so that I am not being shamed for being late or not posting. I find that as soon as I hear that ding I feel that I need to quickly take a picture so that I can keep up my ‘Streak’ so to speak.
Although I found it fun for a bit it is not an app that I will let become a part of my repertoire. So, in the end I will decide to not BeReal. It was a good way to try out an app and learn in a brief amount of time the pros and cons of it.
Andrea, you make some great points about BeReal. I’ve never used the app myself, but it seems to have taken off with a lot of my students, especially in the middle years. Initially, I liked the thought of capturing unplanned and unfiltered moments; it seems like a neat concept. However, you really bring to light the cons of the app. I didn’t realize that it notifies all of your friends if you post late…what a way to get young people to be even more attached to their phones than they already are! I’m glad I decided not to download it. The cons seem to outweigh the pros. I’ll continue to be the teacher that takes BeReal photos for students in the halls, or that photobombs them when they’re not expecting it.
Michael, I had to deal with a student that had taken a BeReal on Friday when we had a sub in the building and wrote how she hated a kid. Had to have the parents come in and talk about it and have them get her phone. She is only Grade 5. I think if you could set up the time in which you would like to receive a notification it would be more realistic as it shouldn’t be taking students away from their learning or a person away from their job. Like anything in this world we need to look at all sides and talk to others that have had experience with it to find out their thoughts and opinions.