So, there is this new social media app. It's called BeReal. Apparently it has taken to internet by storm and there are a lot of people talking about it and using it. YouTubers are already dubbing it as the Snapchat killer or the Instagram killer. So I thought about digging around. BeReal app works like this. Everyday at a random time you get a notification. And you have to click a photo of yourself doing whatever usual work you are doing, in a 2 minute window. No filters, no sprinkly sparkly features. Just be Real. It's very barebone so that you wouldn't find it addictive and put it down in a while. Completely opposite to your usual social media. And this new France based social media app looks like something that has been lacking in our lives, for real.
People are more lonely than ever. It'll be very common if you say "I don't have any friends." Or, "I don't have any close friends." This wasn't the case some 20 years ago. Also now you'd find people who are always talking about hustling. Always talking about bettering themselves, being at the sharpest end of the knife. This also wasn't the case 20 years ago. Back then people were more lean, they had friends, they were content with what they had, and they weren't rushing for the next best thing all their life.
What we are today are largely because of social media. The social medias we use today are basically a constant reminder that you have to stay updated, more ahead than others, always look good. The toxic trait of always trying to stay on top. The more toxic or insecure you are about yourself the less friends you will have. And then there's the usual explanation. Social media apps are way too addictive for people to put down their phone and actually interact with people in the real world. These apps have hundreds and thousands of filters to make you look better. Using these you instantly agree to the fact that you're not perfect. Well, nobody is. And the difference is people before us, they knew that and accepted it, and we can't. We can't agree so much that "nobody is perfect" is considered an agenda now. But people are starting to understand this. Lately, but finally. And why I'm talking about BeReal is because of its' user base. Majority of it are of what we call "Gen Z". So the latest generation is actually getting attracted towards being real. The app is less addictive than others, so you won't use it much. Which is how it should be. Your phone shouldn't be your life outside work.
But BeReal only broke out in the first quarter of 2022. Though the app was launched in 2020. Now whether this is just another app which will get crushed by the Meta monopoly, is a valid question. Maybe it can fail if Instagram or Snapchat steals it's core feature. Which a dual filterless raw photo from both your back and front camera. Which I'm hearing Instagram already has. Or maybe people can just get bored because they are used to more intuitive apps. Or it can lose its identity by adding many features just to retain customers. Who knows. Time will tell.
