Social media is a part of our lives and is here to stay. It allows us to communicate with our friends and family, sharing our adventures with those around us. It is also a way to make memories and have fun, especially on social media platforms that are predominantly based on images and videos over text.
New social media platforms seem to come on the market regularly, so much so that it can take a lot of work to keep track of them. However, it is worth noting that just as quickly as some of them appear, they disappear too.
One currently out there in the world is BeReal, but what is BeReal, and how is it used?
What is BeReal?
Created in France, BeReal is a social platform designed to capture the user completely in the moment.
No matter where you are in the world, every user will receive a notification from the platform during the same two-minute period of the day. They will be notified that the time has come to capture (and then share) an image uploaded to the platform.
The time that everyone receives this notification will change every day. So, you may need BeReal one morning at 10 am before being asked to share the next day at 10:30 pm.
The picture
You cannot upload a photo from your gallery; instead, when you receive your notification, you will open your camera through the app. It will then take a picture for you to upload, which will use both the front and the back camera at the same time.
This will give an all-roudn view of what you are up to at that moment in time. No matter where you are or what you may be doing right then! It could be something incredibly exciting, or it could be something more mundane.
Why did they create it?
Sounds strange? Well, the idea of BeReal is that it is a social media platform that is not faked or cherry-picked in any way. Many people who use social media such as Instagram can often feel that the images are a chosen snapshot of the way the person wants you to see them and their life. It is not necessarily the most accurate depiction.
When you take a picture and upload it via BeReal, you share an image that will be more realistic than on other platforms. It is what is happening right then in your life, even if that thing is sitting on the sofa watching TV.
What if you don’t post?
Of course, just because you have received a notification from BeReal doesn’t mean you have to post anything. However, this is not how the app is designed. If, for any reason, you don’t manage to post on BeReal that particular day, then you won’t be able to use the app the same way you would have if you posted your picture.
You won’t see the pictures your friends have put up that day, and the Discovery public page (where you can see other BeReals from around the world) won’t be open to you.
If you cannot post your BeReal when you receive your notification, you can still post it later in the day and unlock the posts you want to see from your friends. However, your post will be marked as late (and the number of hours late will also show on the post).
As you can see, BeReal is a social media app that is designed to show life in the here and the now. So, if you are thinking about trying it out for yourself, then why not download it and see whether it is something you can welcome into your social life?