BeReal is making social media fun again

by Carlina Grillo

I’ve always wanted to be one of those girls with zero online presence; carrying around a flip phone, spending their downtime reading classic literature in a field of flowers. If you’re one of those people, feel free to stop reading now. 

I, like many young people today, am the victim of chronic social media usage and the (more than) occasional doom scroll. I’ve always had a hard time embracing my social media crutch, but especially since middle school. It started one day after I lost a year-long “snap streak.” I rage-quit off the app, and never looked back. After getting the ick from Snapchat, I couldn’t fully quit. Some may say it made me cling onto other platforms, like Instagram, even more. 

Now at this point you might be thinking to yourself, “What do you mean Carlina? Why can’t you be both a nature girly and an Instagram baddie?” I can, but if I am reading classic literature in a flower field, you already know it’s going on my Instagram story. Maybe even on the main feed with a cute little caption like, “love this life <3.” 

But then… am I actually reading my book or did I all of a sudden get distracted and start looking at memes -– dare I say, doom scrolling -– even though I’m supposed to be enjoying the outdoors? It’s a vicious cycle. 

Now look, this opinion isn’t to rant about social media, and maybe I just have a toxic relationship with the internet, but I’ve become honest with myself and my daily social media intake. Although there’s a lot of bad, there’s so much good, too. From new career opportunities to media coverage on a whole new level, social media is undeniably an important resource in today’s society. 

That being said, the essential role social media plays in everyone’s day-to-day life has made certain platforms evolve from a place where you can see what your cousin in Idaho is doing to a constant stream of media published by people you’ve never met. Depending on how many accounts you subscribe to, the posts you’d like to see, like your Aunt Susan’s new pumpkin pie recipe, might get drowned and lost forever to the mainstream. That’s where the headline comes in. 

I feel very strongly about the new(ish) social media platform: BeReal. I suppose I should mention this is not sponsored, although I wish it was. 

BeReal is an app where users get a notification at a random time everyday. The notification goes off at the same time for each user, and at a completely different time each day. When you get the notification, you’re prompted to take a selfie, then a photo with the back camera. This quick photo spree creates a completely unfiltered feed of/for your close friends. If you give the app permission, it will even document your general location and what you’re listening to, so your friends on the app can get the whole vibe. For me, this ranges from my bestie sitting on the toilet, to that cousin in Idaho grinding homework, or maybe even a colleague at a concert. 

It’s a beautiful thing, seeing what everyone is doing at the same time. Don’t fret though, if you miss the notification, you can post a late BeReal. Everyone sees you posted late, and you’re limited to one photo instead of the newly added feature where if you post your first photo on time, you get to post two more. 

One time, after I had missed the BeReal notification, I decided to take my late BeReal during my maid of honor speech at my sister’s wedding. It was an epic ice-breaker, a beautiful moment and a memory captured on camera from my POV that will be forever cherished.

In summary, here’s a few of the reasons you should ditch your current favorite social media and make the switch to BeReal: 

• The rush of getting a BeReal notification. The joy of exclaiming, “It’s time to BeReal!” and seeing everyone pull out their phones.

• Seeing everyone’s unfiltered, and at times ugly, selfies. 
• Limited posts, so you’re unable to doom scroll. 
• If you need more of a social media fix, you can see what your friends-of- friends are up to.
• Getting an inside look into what your friends actually do day to day.
• Having a collection of daily selfies to look back on.
• And as a journalist, no news! Just a lighthearted escape from the stress of reality, and the constant stream of media we are always consuming.