Everyone is trying to BeReal, is this the answer?

2022 was the year of many things, from AI taking over, the death of Queen Elizabeth, and Lionel Messi finally winning the World Cup; but in terms of social media platforms, the disruptive explosion of BeReal was a real breakthrough, as they grow their users by 315% last year, and near enough everyone you know at some point, last year had to stop and ‘BeReal’.

The new app is designed to promote authenticity and real connections with its users, encouraging people to be their true self, rather than curating a perfect online persona.

Essentially, the app will notify you randomly once a day, and once clicking on the notification, you have two minutes to take a quick snapshot of exactly whatever you are doing at that moment. This encourages its users to share their real-life experiences, rather than just curated content, giving friends and connections a more authentic and REAL view into their lives.

Even down to the more minute details, such as if you retake your ‘BeReal’ to make yourself look more appealing or ‘cool’, your connections can see how many times this has been done. Also, if you miss the notification, and post your BeReal late, it informs your connections and friends how late this is, to avoid individuals from manufacturing their lives even through this app, to show that their life is exciting 24/7. The fact that some people will go to the lengths of delaying taking a single photo to fabricate their perfect life shows how far the disease of social media has gotten in infecting us all. No one is safe from this, nor is it their fault that they will come across as either self-indulged or just completely oblivious to their actions. This is all the reason why BeReal almost NEEDS to be a success, not just for the company itself, but for the mental health of the younger generation that has been brought up on TikTok and YouTube.

The introduction of BeReal to the chaotic social media market was certainly refreshing and needed in the space. A clear example as to why this was needed is because a study conducted by The CyberSmile Foundation that 89% of those surveyed out of around 1000 people aged 16-24 in the UK claimed that social media had a negative impact on their life. People being more genuine is so refreshing for the mental health of millions of young people worldwide and is bold due to their strategy being somewhat directly opposing and being outspoken about their competitors such as Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

The app has been extremely refreshing for most of its users, but it needs to stay in its lane to keep the same user pool and avoid the tempting decision to act like its competitors and be sucked into the world of intermittent fasting, influencers, and love island. It could be the beginning of people realising that not every day of everyone but THEIR own lives is exciting, happy and fun-filled.

In an era of Molly-Mae lecturing people about how everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, and the hundreds of thousands of self-help books out there telling you to get up at 4 am, have a cold shower and recite all your affirmations in a mirror… some real insight and authenticity goes a long way.

But even within this app that requires you to be boring and mundane, if you get the BeReal notification when you are at your desk, merely working AGAIN… then you sometimes get the urge to do a crazy pose, run to a different position, or do something a little out of the ordinary. Because nobody wants to see you in your dressing gown with a brew, or do they? This has certainly caused a dilemma for plenty of users, but ultimately, with the sole creation of the app, boring and mundane HAS to win. You also on a more serious note do not know whom you are helping, especially if someone is having a terrible day after some bad news and has zero motivation; someone waiting 4 hours to post them socialising with their mates to look cooler will not have the greatest effect on them.

As we have previously mentioned, some aspects of other social media platforms have begun to creep in, for example, the year 2022 showcased in a video with each of your BeReal’s, has the danger of people curating these opportunities to make a year-long highlight reel, completely going against everything that the brand stands for, and the worldwide community it is building.

Part of that community is now also becoming brands and businesses. While advertising is not actively available on the app, some brands are letting their social media admins control their BeReal accounts. This certainly helps to develop trust between brands and their customers, showing a more human element to the business. However, issues arise that there is no ‘follow’ option on the app, and you have to directly make friends with people to view their daily updates. This causes a sticking point for larger-scale brands trying to get in on the space. So at the minute, it is not extremely optimal for certain brands to engage in this, but eventually, it could be a great way to bring in a new demographic of customers.

Have you tried to ‘BeReal’ yet?