Be F*cking for Real

It’s the notification of a lifetime—the random buzz on your phone reminding you to BeReal. Once you open the app, the two minutes tick away as you capture whatever you are doing at that moment. The authentic photo shows your actions from two angles, one being a selfie and the other being whatever is in front of you. Your followers get to see the whole view as if they were there. Once posted, you have access to see what your friends have posted and even react. There’s no filter, no hiding and absolutely no shame. This app has become the biggest obsession for Gen-Z and they won’t stop raving about it. Here at The Edge, we love it just as much. Let’s talk about why. 

BeReal is the only bona fide social media app out there right now. It is fun and intimate, allowing snapshots of days to be your feed. There are no celebrities, advertisements or hate comments. There is no like button, judgment or direct messages. There are unedited photos, reactions and friends. There are real people doing real things. It’s no Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat. That’s why we love BeReal so much.

The app was originally created in 2020 by Alexis Barreyat but has grown very much to fame in 2022. According to Apptopia, its active users have grown 315 percent this year alone. This means that tens of millions of people are all revealing a snippet of their day with their friends. These people get one picture per day. That’s right … users are limited to only one post a day and they disappear after 24 hours. 

Social media these days can get toxic. It’s hard to grow up in a world full of edited pictures, brand deals and people who portray their life unrealistically. We don’t see real moments on social media, we see staged pictures. We see the good side of someone’s life, the part they want to put on display. And that’s okay. But, sometimes it can be a bit too much. Back in 2018, Pew Research found that almost 25% of teens view social media as having a negative effect. The reasons for this are bullying, lack of in-person contact, unrealistic views of other people’s lives, peer pressure and mental health issues, just to name a few. Unfortunately, the negative effects of social media have increased significantly since then. 

Out of all social media apps, BeReal allows for people to live in the moment. In the two-minute countdown, you get to share the good, bad, ugly and everything in between. We want to see that because that is normal. We don’t care if you're sleeping, studying, working out, laughing or even crying. Whatever it is, it’s real. 

So get ready to hear the buzz of your phone tomorrow and make sure to get that candid selfie. It’s definitely worth it.