The first time I encountered BeReal, I was on a bus going to downtown Vancouver. I noticed a woman sitting in front of me take a photo of herself, and then angle her phone to quickly take a photo out the window. At first I was confused as to what she was doing. A couple days later, I realised she was taking a BeReal.
What is BeReal?
A mock-BeReal post
BeReal is a social media app that was released in 2020. The new feature of this app is that, at a random point in the day, it sends a notification that the user has 2 minutes “to BeReal”—meaning they must take a front- and back-facing photo within those 2 minutes, or their post will be marked as “late”.
Until the user posts, they can’t see their friends’ BeReals. After they post, they can comment on and react to the posts by snapping a selfie of their reaction.
Why is BeReal popular with Gen Z?
BeReal has exploded in popularity in the past few months. What was once just another obscure social media app now has 10 million daily users. A large portion of its worldwide user base is part of Gen Z. Gen Z has become accustomed to information overload—from influencers, advertisers, and even friends. As a result, they now often distrust inauthentic brands. Similarly, they’ve been demanding more authentic social media experiences. The rocket-fast rise of BeReal therefore shouldn’t come as a surprise, due to a few different aspects of the app:
- Authenticity: Fabricated or not, BeReal has a more authentic feel than other social media apps. The majority of my friends’ posts are of them at work, or in bed, or on the bus—the occasional person snaps their BeReal out with a friend. Overall, the posts seem to be a better representation of what real life is like. It’s a stark contrast to the perfectly “effortless” photos of Instagram, or the highly edited, algorithm-curated videos of Tiktok.
- Privacy: The majority of people I know that have BeReal only have a handful of friends on the app. I think it’s this privacy that allows people to feel more at ease, instead of expecting their post to be seen by hundreds—even thousands—of friends-of-friends.
- No ads: BeReal is one of the very few social media platforms with no advertisements. For Gen Z, this brings us back to the beginning of Instagram, when the only purpose was to see your friends’ content. Now, Instagram and Tiktok are inundated by brands and influencers trying to push the Next Big Thing—which can become exhausting.
- Silliness: Neither the app nor those on it take themselves too seriously. When scrolling through my feed, pictures that people have posted range from a taxidermied monkey in a museum to the tan line on someone’s feet. The fact that the app forces you to take a photo at a specific time means you can get away with posting weirder things than what would be acceptable for a story (which you post voluntarily).
What about privacy?
As with all new apps, we should explore the privacy settings and their implications. BeReal has a leg up in privacy, as it is a French app. This means that it falls under the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). This law is considerably better than the laws that currently govern other social media companies, such as Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Twitter, and Tiktok.
BeReal has additional privacy-protecting features as well. Your account doesn’t have to be linked to your name—you can sign up with a random username and not include your last name in the “name” category. Additionally, posts are only up on BeReal for 24hrs, and you’re notified when someone screenshots your post.
BeReal, however, is not immune to privacy concerns. The biggest worry is that the app encourages you to share your location when you share a post. You can refuse to share location data with the app, but it is still the default for the app. It would be an improvement if the app protected user privacy from the outset, and the location sharing was an optional opt-in feature.
The second issue is less related to the app itself, and more related to how people are using it. There is a trend online of people asking strangers to take their BeReals. When taking a photo on BeReal, it’s not obvious that it’s also taking a front-facing photo. This means that when people ask strangers to take their BeReal, they also snap a selfie of the helpful stranger.
Is BeReal here to stay?
BeReal has managed to fill a niche that has been lacking lately—a social media platform that gives you an “authentic” view into the lives of your close friends. It has positioned itself in opposition to mainstream social media platforms that encourage a curated presentation of a user’s life.
However, some have questioned whether this “authentic” social media app can keep up this facade in the long term. I’ll be the first to admit that if BeReal notifies me at 7:30am, I at least wait until I’m out of bed and have brushed my hair before posting. While the idea of online authenticity is appealing, the reality is a bit more harsh. I think it’s possible that, while BeReal has been a hit during the summer (when we’re all carefree and looking tan and happy), users may not be as eager to post during the winter months (when the majority of our time is spent sitting in libraries or lecture halls).
There are two other main issues that could threaten the longevity of BeReal’s success:
- Money: BeReal prides itself on its lack of ads, and as of yet there are no paid features in the app. (Although this could change, as there is a section in their privacy policy that discusses the purchase of paid features). We have seen the demise of other social media platforms when they do not implement revenue-generating features—hopefully BeReal can learn from others’ past failures.
- Competition: Just as Instagram copied Snapchat Stories, Instagram is also testing out a BeReal copycat, called “Instagram Candid”. As with Instagram stories, if Candid is released people may start using the in-app feature instead of using a whole separate app—threatening BeReal’s success.
Do you think that authenticity is possible on social media? Are newer social media apps really more authentic and private, or are they the same old wine in a new bottle? Will BeReal be used in the long-term, or is it an internet fad? We’d love to hear what you think.
Written by: Eden Solarik
Edited by: Lucas Wright
Feature Image: Created with DALL-E 2
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Is authenticity possible in any social context?
I think of, for example, people in end-of-life care or people who find themselves alone and awaiting rescue, when the illusion of control has been taken from us and we are left humbled and vulnerable. In contexts like this, where ego is absent (or muted), the possibility of authenticity seems possible. In social situations, are we not always, to some degree, behaving as the context requires? How often do we read in the news that someone’s behavior was “out of character,” as if they had suddenly become less rather than more like themselves?
Great post! Lots of food for thought.
Some related reading:
Moeller, H., & D’Ambrosio, P.J. (2021). You and your profile: Identity after authenticity. Columbia University Press.
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/you-and-your-profile/9780231196017
My scribble notes/highlights from the text might hold something of interest:
https://kieranfor.de/2021/07/13/moeller-2021-you-and-your-profile-identity-after-authenticity/
Thank you Kieran for this insight into authenticity! I find your comment about “out of character” behaviour especially fascinating — how do we truly know what is /in/ character for someone?
Tangentially related — I often wonder if authenticity is ever possible when we are being viewed, or if everything is a sort of performance. Even if we are alone, Foucault’s panopticon theory would argue that we still behave as if we’re being watched when we’re alone (and social media is only increasing this phenomenon). So can one be authentic on BeReal? I think we would probably agree that this is not possible.