By Nicole Lee, Staff Writer
It’s “Time to BeReal.” The app that has been trying to build a name since January of 2020 has finally reached 2.7 million downloads as of late August and has sat as the number one free app in the iOS App Store for three consecutive months. Why is it that BeReal is suddenly making its rounds throughout many high school and college campuses?
Alexis Barreyat, the founder and developer of BeReal, created a photo sharing app that promotes authenticity unlike other platforms which are picked through and polished over to depict a flawless exterior to its followers. Other photo sharing apps, especially Instagram, are notoriously known to have misleading posts with highly edited and distorted realities that become extremely toxic to viewers. It is no secret that social media has created a false sense of expectations for many generations like what a “perfect” body should look like or people showing off the “ideal” lifestyle. There has also been a demand for new photo sharing apps amongst younger users as they are fed up with Instagram’s constant changes and features. What makes BeReal so popular is its concept of unfiltered posting and the simplicity behind the app. Users don’t have to think, they just post, and it connects friends by snapshotting what a person is doing in that exact moment.
The newest social media platform sends a random notification everyday stating that it’s “Time to BeReal.” Users have a two-minute window to take a picture from their front and rear camera in order to show their followers what they are doing at that very moment. If posted after the span of two minutes, photos are marked as “late” and you are unable to see what your friends are up to until you post. Once posted, you and your followers can react to each other’s post by snapping a photo of yourself, sharing your genuine reaction. The app’s mission is to promote honest, genuine social media that isn’t very time consuming. One snap and you’re done!
The app’s downloads spiked tremendously over the course of just a few months, however, this stardom was not the case at first. The app was founded in early 2020 but had not yet spiked until mid this year when it became all the rage thanks to young users promoting the app on TikTok, another popular social platform. Instead of photos, TikTok allows people to post short clips and videos whether it’s funny memes or ‘how to’ videos. One of the many trends showing off the app’s features, included a plethora of screenshots of people’s BeReals that captured what the person did that summer or school year. Some people took the authenticity of the app too seriously and posted TikTok videos of moments where it was time to BeReal at unfortunate times which blew up with millions of views.
Barryat also hired young ambassadors across the country to promote his app at their colleges. Any college student can apply to become an ambassador as there is an application on the BeReal website. The app wants these students to introduce the application towards their peers which makeup the majority of users and bring their mission to campuses around the United States. Schools such as Georgetown University, University of Alabama and even Harvard University have been swept with the BeReal events to encourage more downloaders.
BeReal has been extremely smart with their advertising and has worked hard to build their name and gain loyal users. The rapid growth has made its way to the Mills hallways where you can find students from all classes asking their peers and teachers to take their photo. Lets see how long this app can stay afloat and remain the talk of the classrooms.
