To me, BeReal solves all the problems we have with social media and instead encourages real, meaningful connections.
If you’re like me and a lot of other people, you kind of hate social media.
Yes, it is convenient to organize events; I love seeing pictures of my friends and their kids; and it comes in handy when I need ideas for recipes and projects.
But the disadvantages of social media outweigh the advantages. It’s a huge time waster, deliberately designed to steal your attention. And people are incredibly comfortable being extremely mean behind a screen and saying things to each other that they would never be rude enough to say in person.
Considering social media often turns into absolute dumpster fire, why have these apps in the first place? If you’re wondering, let me introduce you to the best social media app: BeReal.
BeReal solves all the things you hate about social media (yes, really!) and encapsulates what we love about social media: real, meaningful connections. No wonder it’s becoming incredibly popular.
What exactly is BeReal? Here’s an explanation from Time:
Each user receives a daily notification notifying them that they have two minutes to click a button in the app to simultaneously take a photo with their phone’s front and rear cameras, and then post the resulting post in a feed to share, which can only be seen by their mutual friends. The app doesn’t allow editing, and if you miss the two-minute window, your post will be marked as late. You also can’t view your friends’ posts until you’ve shared your own, a feature intended to prevent “lurking.”
I found out about BeReal from my teenage sister and after a few nudges I agreed to download and try it out. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and I really think it eliminates all the issues we see in other social media apps. Here’s why I love it so much.
1It doesn’t steal my time and attention
Most social media apps are designed to allow you endless scrolling. The Facebook news feed, Instagram reels, all of TikTok… the goal is to take as much time and attention as possible.
BeReal is the complete opposite. There are no influencers, no roles, no videos, no ads. The only photos you can see are those of your real friends that you added. And since photos are deleted after 24 hours, you can’t even go back through your or your friends’ history to see old photos.
For example, if I have 10 friends on BeReal, there are 10 photos I can look at every day. And that’s it. There is absolutely nothing else to see.
Every day I open the app, look at my friends’ photos for a minute or two, maybe comment, and then close the app. And that’s that. There is no obligation to check it again that day. It takes up about 2 minutes of my day and doesn’t take up any extra time.
2It brings real connection
What really blows my mind about BeReal? I spend so much less time on it than on Facebook or Instagram, but feel a much more authentic connection with my friends discourage using it than using any other app.
I love seeing photos of my friends Yes, really do, not just the curated Instagram highlights reel. BeReal shows me that my friend in Hawaii sits on her lanai with her son after school, my friend in North Carolina builds LEGOs with her kids, and my teenage sister sits outside to catch up on her homework. I feel like I have a real window into their normal everyday life and I’m enjoying it so much.
And because there are no filters or edits in the app, everything feels so authentic. My friends and I often pull faces in our photos because we know no one else will see it.
3It’s really fun!
I have to say I’m not the only one who likes BeReal. My little kids love it! When the daily notification pops up to post our BeReal, they all come running to make faces for the photo. And then they love seeing the photos of what our friends are doing in other parts of the world.
We just enjoy the hell out of this simple little app. For me, it solves all the problems that come with social media and brings it back to what it’s supposed to be about, which is meaningful and fun connection with real friends.
I hope you check it out too! I’m willing to bet you’ll enjoy it that much.
