2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 195
A new social media app is spreading on college
campuses and looking to answer the question everyone
is asking: What are my friends doing on a random
Thursday afternoon?
The app is called BeReal. It’s a photo-sharing app
like Facebook or Instagram where users can upload
photos for their friends to see. Unlike other platforms,
BeReal encourages its users to share their lives in
real-time instead of with the planned and edited posts
often seen on other apps.
Though it launched in 2019, the app has only taken
off recently. At least 65% of its lifetime downloads have
taken place this year and the app’s monthly active users
have grown by 315% in 2022, according to Apptopia.
It has also become popular on other social media
platforms. The hashtag “bereal” has over 305 million
views on TikTok and many videos about BeReal can be
found on TikTok’s discover page.
Every day, users are notified at a random time that
it is time to “BeReal.” Users have two minutes to take
and share a photo. The app uses both the front and
back-facing camera to show both the person and what
they are doing. Users cannot browse through photos
until they have posted their own to prevent “lurking.”
The goal of BeReal is to get an authentic look into
someone’s life. There are no filters to cover up any
blemishes or bad lighting. So, if your hair is a mess
and you have not gotten out of bed yet, there is no
hiding it.
The appeal to many users is the intimacy of the
app. People’s feeds have not been overrun with
celebrities and brands.
Social feeds on BeReal are often filled with
mundane things such as doing homework, making
dinner or folding laundry. Limiting users to one post
a day also means there is not an overload of posts to
scroll through.
Users say that the app allows them to keep up with
friends whom they do not get to spend much time
with.
“Obviously I have friends that I get to talk to every
day and it’s cool to see what they’re doing,” Nico
Budde, a digital arts major, said. “But there are also
friends I don’t see that often and it’s nice to keep in
touch with them and see what they’re doing.”
BeReal does pose privacy concerns for some users.
The app automatically shares your location with your
post unless the setting is disabled. Posting every day
can also give the app and its users data on your habits
and location.
Despite privacy concerns, the app has continued to
become increasingly popular with college students.
“It’s no different from Snapchat,” anthropology
major Gracie Bass said. “The Snap Map lets people see
where I am already. I’m not really worried.”
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