BeReal: why I love Gen Z’s new favorite social network

I’m sure you know it too: social media fatigue. Somehow, all of these promising platforms somehow end up disappointing you. Instagram and Facebook have turned into advertising feeds, allowing only for occasionally interruptions by updates from your actual friends. Linkedin tells me I’m the top candidate for a job of which I don’t even understand its title and the Twitter algorithm reminds me of Jerry Springer: it claims to provide you with a platform for an open discussion without taboos, but what he’s really looking for is a dirty street fight. Tiktok? Guess I’m just too old for that.

But I’m pretty excited about this new kid on the block. I think BeReal might be the app that really gets the Zeitgeist.

Images © BeReal

Here’s how BeReal works. Every day, at a random time, the app asks you and your friends to take a picture. You get exactly 2 minutes to do so. And when you take the picture, it uses your front ànd back camera. So your friends will see where you are at that very moment. No faking. No time to setup a mondaine Instagram worthy setting. Just you, for real.

Away with the carefully curated feeds from azure lagunes, exotic cocktails on rooftop bars and colorful masterpieces on your plate. Here you may catch your friends at a desk, in class, in the bathroom or doing the dishes. Refreshingly recognizable. Gone are the days of cold food because you where too busy to find the perfect angle and light to capture your food instead of just enjoying it while it was still hot.

Another advantage: because of the low frequency (once a day), it keeps you from doomscrolling. Once you’ve seen the updates from your friends, there’s nothing else. No addictive algorithms designed to keep you engaged with the timeline here. Except for the ‘discovery content’ feature, there’s no incentive to keep you hooked. That might actually prove healthy.

In short, BeReal takes away the pressure of trying to fit in with the oh-so-perfect lives that none of us live 24/7: that just might be a real insight. And it may prove less harmful for our mental health. I think this just might be a gamechanger. And so does Andreessen Horowitz, who funded the app with $30 million.

Which only leaves one real question: how will they monetize the app? The Privacy Statement is pretty clear: they will not sell your data. And there’s no advertising. So either there will be ads at some point or the app will feature a paid subscription model sooner or later. In the meantime, you can enjoy your friends for real and for free without ads.

I think that’s great.