Because the BeReal app is seducing generation Z
Other than Instagram or TikTok. BeReal is the photo-filter-free social media app of choice for younger users. The goal is to share real life, when it happens, with friends. The deepening of the Wall Street Journal
With a seemingly random frequency every 24 hours, Kevin Lee gets a notification to post a selfie. “Time to BeReal,” says the alert on his phone, and a two-minute countdown begins. Some mornings, the 27-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles receives the notification before he gets out of bed. “I look terrible. But I just do it, ”said Mr. Lee. He is one of nearly 6.8 million people who have downloaded BeReal in the past two years, according to data from mobile-market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
The app – presented by its creators as an authentic, unfiltered alternative to curated posts on Instagram and TikTok – has gained credit among young people, especially college students. Most BeReal users, such as Lee, have joined this year, according to researcher Apptopia.
The French application, available for iPhones and Android phones, invites users once every 24 hours to take a photo using their smartphone's front and rear cameras. The prompt time is unpredictable for users and changes daily, and photo filters are not allowed. Unlike more dominant social media platforms, there are also no ads, and there are no visible follower counts – writes the WSJ .
BeReal's limited approach to publishing and consulting is an alternative to apps like TikTok and Instagram, which each have more than a billion monthly active users and invest money and engineers to make products more engaging for users. BeReal has a different pace: Post fast, swipe and go live your life. For some Gen Z users, this is a magnetic idea.
Nathan Carey, a 22-year-old student in Ireland, signed up for the app three weeks ago after hearing about it from his college friends. The rather mundane posts – people watching TV or cooking dinner – allow him to see his friends' lives as they are, rather than through highly curated images, he said. "You can be more vulnerable," Carey said.
BE REAL
After receiving a “BeReal” warning, users have two minutes to take a photo. If they are too busy or in a place where they shouldn't be taking selfies – like the bathroom – BeReal allows users to post outside that time frame, with a catch. That is, the application tells their friends that the photo is late and shows precisely how late they are. This has led to people taking pictures while in class or traveling, but many times, BeReal ends up with pictures of the photographer looking at his feet.
BeReal prevents users from hiding: to see anyone's images, users must first share theirs. If a user posts late, they don't have much time to see other people's photos; all posts reset when the next notification comes out. The goal is to share real life, when it happens, with friends.
What BeReal has to offer, say users and social media experts, is its attitude of spontaneity and authenticity. It's a mix of Wordle (the popular pun that can only be played once a day) and Meta Platforms' Instagram (without those filters). And the fleeting duration of the posts draws comparisons to Snapchat.
The combination resonated with people who have started avoiding the curated photos and videos that dominate feeds on many social networks.
The biggest social media apps, including TikTok and Instagram, started out as ways for people to share updates with their friends. But as these apps have evolved to present more idealistic versions of people's lives, large economies of creators have flourished on the platforms, with influencers posting highly curated content to attract followers and sponsors.
The change means users often see more commercial posts, creating a hole that an app like BeReal could try to fill, said Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center in Newport Beach, California. However, according to Rutledge BeReal and other new social media networks will only have power if they can keep users and their friends using the app steadily. “A lot of apps are fun to try, but the point of a social-media app is to connect with others,” said Dr. Rutledge.
BeReal wants users to portray their lives rather than share images to build influence, a spokesperson said. “We want people to feel good about themselves and their life”.
A COMET STAR OR INTENDED TO REMAIN?
For some, BeReal's rise resembles other once popular apps like Yo and Frontback. The latter app allowed users to take photos using the front and rear camera and then merged the two shots into a single image. It had a surge in popularity after its launch in 2013, but closed two years later as users moved on to the next big thing.
While the number of downloads is a good measure of an app's success, this data doesn't predict whether the app has lasting power, said Niklas Myhr, who teaches social media, digital and global marketing at Chapman University in Orange. California.
Apps can fail if they rely too heavily on one feature without developing multiple tools to keep users engaged, Dr Myhr said. This was the case with Yo, which was launched in 2014 only to allow users to say “Yo” to friends. The app added profiles, links and hashtags, but the updates weren't enough to save it.
While Mr. Carey loves BeReal's daily dopamine hit, he wants something more from the app to make it addictive beyond its "RealMoji" button. That feature allows users to react to a post by taking a selfie, rather than touching a heart or thumbs-up icon. For now, Mr. Carey keeps checking the app as his friends are there.
(Extract from the foreign press review by Epr Comunicazione)
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/perche-lapp-bereal-sta-seducendo-la-generazione-z/ on Sat, 30 Apr 2022 05:25:11 +0000.