When I checked my screentime this week it was down 30% from last week… progress.
WhatsApp and Instagram are my go-to apps (after that, Apple Music and my banking app), so when my daughter (Gen Z) suggested I download BeReal this week I had no appetite due to the amount of time I already spend on social media. My daughter was also sceptical at first for similar reasons.
BeReal is riding off a human truth that people are craving authenticity. The app encourages people to “show your friends who you really are, for once”, by removing filters and opportunities to stage, over-think or edit photos.
Authenticity is not a new desire expressed by human beings. Instagram started the trend around 2020 with the #instagramvsreality hashtag, which shed light on what the unfiltered reality is behind curated Instagram posts.
This was part of the body positivity movement in response to rising depression and suicide numbers, particularly among teens – driven by unrealistic perfectionism – where image is more of a sensitised topic.
I decided to download the app and give it a try. It took me back to 2016 when TikTok was an obscure platform mentioned in some boardrooms, but nobody knew how the app would be monetised for brands. Once a model was in place, TikTok professed Don’t make Ads, Make TikTok
and were the first social app born from this human need for authenticity.
Raw reality a booming currency
BeReal will most likely develop a revenue model and be monetised over the next year, and all big brands will want to jump on board. This might further revolutionise the way brands show up on social media being even more authentic than what TikTok is able to deliver. Consumers are done with fake, and raw reality is a booming currency.
So how does it work? The app notifies users at a random time throughout the day that it’s time to BeReal
. A two-minute timer starts when the user opens the app, to take a picture of whatever they’re doing at that moment. When posting a BeReal, the app takes a picture using both your front and back camera, so other people can see you and where you are at that moment. It’s meant to catch you off-guard.
Within minutes of having my account I was notified (you need to agree to have a push notification sent to you randomly in the day to tell you to post). I was having my morning coffee, with my dog on the bed, still acclimatising to the day. I was able to friend exactly four people on BeReal, so this is definitely very new in my demographic.
Super-personalised
Something very unique is the reactions function on the app. Instead of posting a like, or heart eyes emoji, BeReal asks you to interpret the emoji in another selfie, so your reactions are super-personalised, which I like a lot.
The app leaves me with a few questions: How much sharing is too much? Do we need to come to the office in tracksuit pants just because Covid-19 allowed us to work from home for a bit? Are we hot-wiring connection by dropping boundaries with an app like BeReal?
While the world of beautifying filters like SnapChat might exacerbate low self -worth in vulnerable young people, do we really need to see each other altogether unfiltered?
An interesting space to observe, but so far, I’ve enjoyed the novelty.
Alex Spagnoletti is digital strategist for Famous Brands at The MediaShop.
References: insider.com
