BeReal. The newest craze that's sweeping the nation and dragging all of our attention spans with it. It’s the newest craze that is supposed to create a more real, authentic social media. However, the biggest question I’ve always had is does it really do that?

If you haven't heard yet or just aren’t sure what BeReal is, I’m here to help. BeReal is an app created by Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau that sends out a notification once a day, and users post a picture within 2 minutes of the notification. If you miss the notification, no worries! The app allows you to post late, however, it sends everyone you have added a notification that you posted late. The app only allows you to post once a day, so it encourages people to post what they're doing at the moment, without requiring something amazing or a specific event to post about. BeReal also has one feature that makes it stand out from every other social media, which is that it takes a picture on both the front and back-facing cameras simultaneously, so make sure to smile!

One thing that’s not so “real” though is that some people will wait until they have something interesting to post about for the BeReal that day. An example of this could be shown by some of the people I have added to my BeReal. The BeReal for October 31st went off at 09:43 pm, and I had friends who posted themselves at the Harry Styles concert (on time might I add), while I also had friends who waited until they were with friends in order to get a better post. This is just one of the many ways that people can “BeFake” while using this app. 

People will sometimes also alter their current environment to achieve a better-looking BeReal for that day. To give a little bit of background, Zach King made a TikTok explaining this exact occurrence. In the video, Zach gets a BeReal notification and immediately begins changing his environment. He changes his shirt and begins to pour sand out on the floor to make it look like he is at the beach. He sits in front of a banner that makes it look like he is at the beach and places a beach ball behind him with a towel wrapped around his shoulder. He then takes his BeReal and it is made to look like he is at the beach. This is obviously a satirical post poking fun at how people act when BeReal goes off, but it is very true. Some people take BeReal very seriously and others tend to do it very leisurely. It all depends on how much you decide to put into the app. 

Now, BeReal is not an overall horrible app. It is an amazing way to see what your friends are doing and to see a snippet of their days. These photos are a cool way to see what your friends are up to and who they are hanging out with. It is also very easy to post something that anyone can see, but the purpose of BeReal isn’t to go viral. The creators were interviewed and they said that the point of BeReal was not to go viral but to see what your friends are up to. 

BeReal, since the days of its early launch, has become the spotlight of many discussions. Originally, people have since pointed out, you would only add your close friends to your BeReal. Now, many people are adding acquaintances and friends they haven’t talked to in a while. BeReal has become more of a once-a-day Instagram, where you post what you are comfortable with people seeing. These BeReals can be very creative, and sometimes, they will get a famous celebrity or special guest in their life to take their BeReal. I have seen many people have their parents or random old people take their BeReal. Sometimes, when they take this photo, they don’t realize that the back and front cameras will both take pictures, so they end up with funny and accidental faces made by these people.

Overall, BeReal is a good app. It is a unique way for us to challenge our creativity in our current environment. More creative BeReals stand out to others and have become viral sensations all over the world.