Like a lot of young people I am a product of my time. This essentially means I spend far too much time scrolling through my social media feeds, yet I never felt the urge to download the app BeReal. The app itself claims it’s different from the ones that their users have downloaded in the past, as it promises a way to be your most authentic self. The app itself is basic in form and in premise. Every day, users get a notification that it is “time to BeReal” and from there they take a photo of the view in front of them at the same time a selfie is taken. These photos are then shared to friends (not followers) to view. In all honesty, nothing about the app’s model stood out to me — I was peer pressured into downloading it.
After watching many videos on TikTok of people using the app, and having my own friends claiming I needed to download it, I decided to bite the bullet. BeReal both prides and markets itself on being the anti-Instagram, anti-influencer social media. Except, does it really do this? Users can still retake and delay the upload time of their daily posts, so the model itself does allow room for non-authenticity. The creators of the app balance this by ensuring that your friends’ posts cannot be seen unless you have posted your own BeReal. Personally, I found this approach very effective, because above all else, I use social media to be nosy.
The downside to the late posting is the fact that the app will expose their users on how late they have posted their photo, and also display how many times the photo was retaken (the latter only being available once you hit ten friends). It was when I realized my friends could see that I waited until my morning walk to post my daily photo instead of when I was laying in bed (not very real of me) that I felt something strange. I felt guilty. Thankfully, that did not last long once I saw how late my friends were posting, too. Personally, I find the time limit to post provides Gen Z with a very similar stress that Snapchat streaks gave its OG users back in that app’s popularity.
At the end of the day, BeReal is a social media app, and every one of them — including this one, has its downsides. And along with the negatives, there is eventually the decline in popularity.
When I first downloaded the app I thought to myself that it really was just a glorified Instagram story, only way less fun. There were days when I posted my morning coffee alongside a pretty sunrise (cute!), and there were also multiple days in a row where all people saw was my lunchroom at work (less cute!). It was at this moment, while posting my third lunchroom post, that I realized this app gives me the dreaded F.O.M.O. It made me feel as though I was wasting my days away working, because I was forced to compare my life to my friends who were at cute bookstores and farmers markets.
Social media is not a competition, so why does BeReal feel like it is? It has become a trend on TikTok, to show off your BeReal of the day but only if it is “cool enough.” If you look at #BeReal on TikTok you will notice one common theme: everyone wants to “win” at BeReal. Posts range from people waiting in front of the Eiffel tower to putting off their posts until a concert starts in order to capture a BeReal, showing users are slowly straying from the authentic feel of the app to make sure they have a fun daily post. It has even become a trend to see who can make the funniest “at the wrong time” BeReal to garner views on TikTok.
The app itself has a promising premise, but it isn’t hardwired in many of our brains (including mine) to be overly authentic on social media anymore. When my friends first started talking about BeReal, it was divided into two kinds of people: those that wish for a simpler time before influencers and those that pride themselves on not being influenced. Since its takeoff, BeReal has become almost what it sought to destroy, for there is still a “discover” page in which people have to actively choose to share their posts worldwide. In the year 2022 it has become difficult to be authentic online, and if BeReal truly wants to achieve that then there is work to be done. Until then I will stick to my glossy Instagram stories.
Eva Davey is a UFV student majoring in English Literature and minoring in Media Communications. She is a fan of poetry, oat milk lattes, and the final girl trope. Currently, her worst enemy is the Good Reads app.