One of my recent BeReals that I was decently on time for (which was a total fluke – I just happened to be looking at my phone when the notification went off)
I first heard about BeReal during my trip to Mexico over Easter Break, where some of the other members of the tour group told me about it. They were from the UK, and I think it must be a more common social media platform there, whereas I get the sense that it is just catching on in North America. I was instantly interested in BeReal because of its unique design/premise, which favours authenticity and real life moments, rather than the highly-edited and curated feeds one typically sees on other social media platforms.
Being interested in this platform, I told the members of my tour group that I would sign up for a BeReal account when I got back home and follow them on it. They were my only 2 friends on the app, so I soon got tired of the app and my posts dwindled away. I jumped back into this app for this week’s blog prompt.
How BeReal Works:
The app sends you a notification at some point during the day (you don’t know when this will occur), and then you have 2 minutes to post your BeReal for the day. This post is intended to be a snapshot of whatever you are doing at the time the notification goes off; BeReal posts include both a selfie and a picture of wherever you are/what is in front of you at the time. You can react to others’ posts with RealMojis, which are snapshots of your own face showing the different reactions (thumbs up, laughing, etc.). You can also comment on others’ posts, give your BeReal a caption, and view your BeReal memories from previous days. As an incentive to post on time, users are allowed to post additional BeReals if their first is completed within 2 minutes of the notification going off for the day. I don’t remember this being a feature when I first started using BeReal in April – so either it is new, or I totally missed this option!
The Pros:
A view of my past BeReals
BeReal is original and goes against the filtered/edited nature of various other social media platforms – I love the idea of being more ‘real’ online and giving others a glimpse into your unpolished, true life
it’s easy to set up an account
RealMojis is an interesting concept that is unique to BeReal
you can easily add contacts you already know right in the app
The Cons:
this app encourages your notifications to be on and for you to have your phone with you at all times (which is not my style at all, so this aspect misses the mark for me)
there doesn’t seem to be any easily-recognizable home page or place for notifications, which (to me) makes the app feel strange to navigate
this app is not common among my friends yet, so there is a lack of people to follow (I reached out to classmates in this course on Twitter to get a few more people on my feed)
legal and ethical privacy concerns for posting at work (especially as a teacher)
Other Information:
there is a Discovery tab, which is just a feed of random people’s BeReals (not your friends); I am not personally interested in this at all
apparently, there is a way to see how many times someone has re-taken their BeReal picture, but I haven’t noticed that anywhere yet (maybe all of my friends are first-snap people?)
the app will tell you how late someone was posting their BeReal for the day (the members of my tour group told me that it is always funny to see people who have posted 5 hours late, and then their BeReal shows them doing something cool – it sends the message that they waited to post so they could show something interesting, which is really missing the whole point of BeReal)
Applications for Educational Use:
Nothing immediately came to mind for useful applications of BeReal in the classroom. Because the app is so time-sensitive (and dependent on notifications being enabled), I don’t see how it would work to use in real-time in the classroom. However, a BeReal inspired project (that doesn’t actually use the app itself, but the concept of it) did come to mind for a history/art project. Students could depict an important event in history as a BeReal. This involves students considering what the person would have looked like during the event, and what they would have seen in front of them in that moment. This same concept could also be used for a novel study or literature project, with students depicting book events and characters as BeReals.
Implications for Youth:
For me, BeReal as a platform can have both positive and negative effects on youth. I appreciate that the intentions behind the app are stepping outside the norm of social media and encouraging people to share their real selves. It gives me hope that future generations won’t be bogged down by unrealistic expectations and pressure to be a certain way.
However, perhaps this push to ‘be real’ is a double-edged sword. Do we really want to share every last detail of our lives with the internet? RoxAnne pointed out in her blog post that this could be potentially dangerous if people online know exactly where you are and what you are doing.
In addition, isn’t there a kind of security that comes with having a real-life self and an on online self, and they don’t necessarily have to be one and the same? I, personally, like having distance between my online and offline selves, and I don’t want youth feeling that they have to share everything with everyone. I also believe it is an important social skill for youth to learn what is appropriate to share in different contexts; if we share everything online, then we aren’t practicing these social norms.
Furthermore, I dislike the message BeReal is sending by: a) encouraging its users to constantly be near their phone and listening for a notification, and b) rewarding those who did so. This, to me, is an unhealthy relationship with technology that could be harmful.
In Conclusion:
At the end of the day, I don’t see myself continuing to use BeReal regularly. While I love the concept of authenticity and literally “being real,” the time-sensitive and notification-dependent nature of this app doesn’t appeal to me or work for my personal technology-use boundaries I have in place.
Have you tried BeReal or do you know someone who uses it? What are you thoughts on this up-and-coming social media platform?
Hi Kara,
Thanks for the straightforward review of BeReal. I had never heard of this social media platform until this class. I agree that the app seems to pressure people to have their phone with them 24/7. It is a neat concept though that I would like to try with family and friends even over text message occasionally to see what everyone is up to in their busy lives. I just wouldn’t want to be tied to another social media platform. Which social media platform do you most enjoy using?
Hi Kendra, thanks for your comment! I like the idea of starting your own BeReal thread through text messages – I guess SnapChat could also follow this idea of seeing what people are doing in the moment. I will seem old saying this, but I still enjoy Facebook as a social media platform. It has a lot of functions that other socials just don’t. I also like Instagram and Twitter from a professional standpoint.
Hey! I had so much fun having you on BeReal. over the last couple of weeks while I also trialed the app. I am planning to post my review as a vlog. Are you okay with me screen sharing my account and scrolling though posts where some of your ‘face reactions’ may be visible?
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the app. I found your educational application of it really neat because I couldn’t think of any way to use it in a classroom setting.
Hopefully I will continue to see snippets of you on the app! 🙂
Hi Sarah! Thanks for your comment! Yes, feel free to share my face on your posts. Looking forward to seeing your vlog and future BeReal posts. It’s always a cool experience to reconnect with classmates from my undergrad days – it really takes me back!
Super interesting post, Sarah. I had heard of BeReal as well – a couple of kids had mentioned along the way a few months ago, but I really haven’t heard too much since then. There is something I inherently like about the idea – posting things that are real life, as opposed to curated. However, at the same time, it paradoxically feeds the need to be noticed and validated for existing lol. I don’t think people would find my daily life that interesting to look at, and I don’t think I would find others’ work lives all that interesting either. Certainly lots of tensions to dwell on!
Hi Janeen, and thanks for your comment! I agree that there are some significant pros and cons to BeReal. Now that I have a few more friends on the app (thanks to this class), I find I am more engaged and motivated to post/comment/react. It will be interesting to see if this app catches on with our generation of users in Canada or not.
Thanks for these thoughts on this app. Maybe I’m getting old, but I just feel like there’s so many apps trying to have the “it factor”. It gets overwhelming. Like you said, I get the fact it’s all about trying to show unedited and unfiltered lives, but do people really care that much? I really resonated when you said, “Do we really want to share every last detail of our lives with the internet?” Gosh. Why is there this incessant need to do this? Anyways, thanks for reviewing this for us. I don’t think I’ll be exploring it any time soon.
Hi Laura! Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts. This app (and the plethora of others trying to be the ‘next best thing,’ as you mention) does showcase some of the problems of the social media era. As apps get increasingly aggressive with their ploys to keep users on screens constantly, I see the need for education on screen time and a balanced lifestyle becoming more and more needed for young people (and people in general!).
KKF Learning to Teach 
Hi Kara,
Thanks for the straightforward review of BeReal. I had never heard of this social media platform until this class. I agree that the app seems to pressure people to have their phone with them 24/7. It is a neat concept though that I would like to try with family and friends even over text message occasionally to see what everyone is up to in their busy lives. I just wouldn’t want to be tied to another social media platform. Which social media platform do you most enjoy using?
Hi Kendra, thanks for your comment! I like the idea of starting your own BeReal thread through text messages – I guess SnapChat could also follow this idea of seeing what people are doing in the moment. I will seem old saying this, but I still enjoy Facebook as a social media platform. It has a lot of functions that other socials just don’t. I also like Instagram and Twitter from a professional standpoint.
Hey! I had so much fun having you on BeReal. over the last couple of weeks while I also trialed the app. I am planning to post my review as a vlog. Are you okay with me screen sharing my account and scrolling though posts where some of your ‘face reactions’ may be visible?
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the app. I found your educational application of it really neat because I couldn’t think of any way to use it in a classroom setting.
Hopefully I will continue to see snippets of you on the app! 🙂
Hi Sarah! Thanks for your comment! Yes, feel free to share my face on your posts. Looking forward to seeing your vlog and future BeReal posts. It’s always a cool experience to reconnect with classmates from my undergrad days – it really takes me back!
Pingback: BeReal…or…BeOnTime? – sarahross
Super interesting post, Sarah. I had heard of BeReal as well – a couple of kids had mentioned along the way a few months ago, but I really haven’t heard too much since then. There is something I inherently like about the idea – posting things that are real life, as opposed to curated. However, at the same time, it paradoxically feeds the need to be noticed and validated for existing lol. I don’t think people would find my daily life that interesting to look at, and I don’t think I would find others’ work lives all that interesting either. Certainly lots of tensions to dwell on!
Hi Janeen, and thanks for your comment! I agree that there are some significant pros and cons to BeReal. Now that I have a few more friends on the app (thanks to this class), I find I am more engaged and motivated to post/comment/react. It will be interesting to see if this app catches on with our generation of users in Canada or not.
Thanks for these thoughts on this app. Maybe I’m getting old, but I just feel like there’s so many apps trying to have the “it factor”. It gets overwhelming. Like you said, I get the fact it’s all about trying to show unedited and unfiltered lives, but do people really care that much? I really resonated when you said, “Do we really want to share every last detail of our lives with the internet?” Gosh. Why is there this incessant need to do this? Anyways, thanks for reviewing this for us. I don’t think I’ll be exploring it any time soon.
Hi Laura! Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts. This app (and the plethora of others trying to be the ‘next best thing,’ as you mention) does showcase some of the problems of the social media era. As apps get increasingly aggressive with their ploys to keep users on screens constantly, I see the need for education on screen time and a balanced lifestyle becoming more and more needed for young people (and people in general!).