Students join the BeReal phenomenon
BeReal is an app where everyday at a different time users around the world have exactly two minutes to post a picture with the front and back facing camera. The app was released in 2020 but is only now gaining increased popularity.
Some students enjoy the app for its appeal to authenticity. According to scotsman.com BeReal was intended to encourage people to take more authentic photos without the heavy filters and editing
“I like BeReal because it captures the beauty of social media without editing and you just showcase your real authentic self whenever you get a notification,” Leyla Benoit, eighth grade communications major said.
Despite the 2020 launch, according to data from Apptopia, around 65% of its users signed up in 2022. In fact, BeReal’s active monthly users have reportedly risen by more than 315% within the past few months.
According to mayoclinic.org “Social media use can also negatively affect teens, distracting them, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, unrealistic views of other people’s lives and peer pressure.”
The thing is with BeReal people’s lives being unrealistic can’t happen with BeReal since it’s authentic and people are posting what they are doing right at the moment unedited.
“I like using BeReal because of the spontaneity. It’s not like TikTok or Instagram where things are trending, it’s just real,” Delia Aleman, seventh grade visual major said. “You post a picture, and it’s unedited with no filters or anything,”
InsiderIntelligence says that as of Oct 11, 2022 Facebook was number 12 in the iOS app store while BeReal was number one because of its focus on authenticity .
“I think that BeReal is one of the most authentic apps out there,” Benoit said, “ I think it’s probably one of the most creative social media apps where nothing is fake and you can just BeReal.”