About two weeks ago I was talking with my son and asked him a question about a message he said that he had gotten from a friend. I said was it a Snapchat and he looked at me like I had a horn growing out of my head and said, “Umm no it was on BeReal.” I just smiled and continued on. When this assignment came up I quickly thought of this Social Media platform and how this was a golden opportunity to teach myself about something new and cool!
I signed up for BeReal and thought okay this seems pretty cool and simple. I posted my first picture and it stated under it 5 hours late. I thought okay well I did sign up a little later in the evening. I read that I would get a notification that would give me a 2 minute window to take an unfiltered picture of myself and my surroundings. Fast forward to the next day. I am walking down the hall at school and my phone goes off and I look and see that BeReal is giving me my notification to take a picture. I was on a break so took a quick picture and shared it. I then looked at my two friends one of which is my son and see that he also took his picture when he got the notification. This was during class time. So, with the random notification times students that do not want a mark of shame (with how much they were late posting their picture) are being distracted during class to take a random picture.
BeReal has become very popular as the photos are 
unfiltered, unedited and show an asterisk if they have been taken more than once. If you chose not to post a picture on a particular day you are unable to look at those pictures in which your friends have taken. Just like Snapchat, Facebook, TikTok and other Social Media you are able to post a reaction to the pictures. If you would like to read more about BeReal I have attached a website for you.
With the little bit that I have played around on BeReal I do like that there aren’t the filters so that what you see is what you get in a sense. I think that too often in today’s society we are putting a filter on every picture we take and so the real us is not being shown/shared with the world.
I am the type of person that has a very competitive nature and so when I hear the notification go off I know that I am going to want to get my picture taken quickly so that I do not get a mark of shame. I think that as yes this helps in keeping things real it also isn’t doing a true portrait of ones life. How often do I give myself a time limit when I am taking a picture? I guess that this is a part of keeping things real but I think it is also adding to some of the stress that we find in our youth today. Kids are dealing with anxiety of fitting in, trying to be perfect, getting good grades, being cool, etc. This app helps in adding to those areas of anxiety by putting a time limit on the picture being taken as well as having the app notifying at random times. It keeps an element of surprise but for anyone that deals with anxiety or likes to be very organized this is a difficult concept to not know when the notification might come. Pros and Cons of BeReal.
BeReal was launched in 2019 in Paris, France. This website has a list of statistics all about the BeReal App.
BeReal US age demographics 2022 (%)
| Age bracket | Percentage of users |
|---|---|
| 16-25 | 43.2 |
| 26-44 | 55.1 |
| 45+ | 1.7 |
I found it surprising that the percentage of users that is the highest is those between 26-44.
I am only on my fourth day of my BeReal journey. My son tells me that I am not cool. I have a total of three friends as of yesterday and am excited to learn more about this Social Media platform so that I can have an actual meaningful conversation with students if they ask me about it. Is it an app that I think I will leave on my phone forever? I am not sure yet. They say that things take time to become a habit. I am unsure at this time if I want BeReal to become a habit or just another form of Social Media that I use. Only time will tell. For now I am liking the simplicity of the app and the fact that it is raw, unedited, realistic images. I can’t believe that I shared on here one that gave me a double chin but with the second camera you can’t always see what it is taking a picture of so there I am in all of my glory.
For now I will continue on my BeReal journey and I will see if I can find some friends to follow and that want to follow me as well.
This app is very interesting…
My first thought is that “ain’t nobody got time for that!” meme haha! Well, I guess I should speak only for myself. I do like that filters aren’t an option to counter the body image issues other apps perpetuate with filters, however, I’m not sold on this app quite yet. In the pros/cons link you provided, the privacy issues in relationship with the pressure to post immediately is a major concern for me, which then adds to the con of public shaming. For the stats listed, I wonder what the percentage under 16 is…do users have to verify their age as at least 16? I promise I am trying to be critical rather than negative and definitely not a reflection of your choice, rather the app itself (no judgement here, I promise!). Anyway, good for you for trying something new and being hip to the scene!
Jacquie, I agree this app is interesting. I have found a lot of things that I like about it such as the no filters which helps counter body image issues but on the other hand there are a lot of draw backs such as the privacy issues. Many other platforms allow you to set your privacy and I have been unable to find a space here to do so. It is an app that needs to be looked at with a critical lens as any social media app does. It is one that I will look at in more depth to see the pros and cons and see if it is one that I am comfortable continuing to use or one that I will stop using. I have three people that I am following and that are following me.