The social networking application "BeReal" is very popular among young people and adolescents, and the idea of ​​​​the application depends on the appearance of a notification on the smartphone unexpectedly once a day, asking the user to publish his status and see what his friends are doing in just two minutes.

Spontaneous real life

The “Be Real” application seeks to show real life spontaneously and without the use of any filters, and this application is considered one of the most downloaded applications during 2022 in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play App Store, and this network wants to look different from the communication platforms. other such as TikTok and Instagram.

This platform was founded by Alexis Bariat in France to keep in touch with friends, and the developer said about the application, "It is the place where real life is filmed."

The company seeks that the "Be Real" application becomes an alternative to other social networks, which work to spread social comparisons and provide everything other than enhancing communication between people.

daily photo

The user receives a notification on his smartphone once a day to publish a picture of himself, or what is known as “B-Real”. The user has two minutes to publish this picture, and a picture can be taken with the front and back cameras at the same time, as the selfie image appears later with a picture of the surrounding area as well. .

And if the user does not interact with the notifications of requests immediately, he can publish his “Be Real” at a later time, but then it will be marked as late, and the application also shows the number of notifications that reached the user before he could successfully upload the image, which represents pressure on users.

Katja Junkel, a specialist in culture and arts at Goethe University in Frankfurt, explained that these actions "represent a kind of violation of the rules, because the user may feel ashamed when marking "late" in the publication of BeReal or showing the number of attempts before being able to load the image.

Junkel added that these procedures may show the impression that the user was unable to handle the request properly from the first time, and this could lead to a kind of defamation, and although the application was originally based on the idea of ​​relieving pressure, it actually generates a lot of pressure. pressures on the user.

And while social media platforms such as Instagram are criticized for showing the user's life in too embellished form, beReal appears on the other side of the equation.

"Photo request notifications usually appear at times when the user is inactive," Junkel added.

Therefore, most of the images show people doing nothing, and the German expert added, "But in times of extreme busyness, the user will not be really ready to use the BeReal application, and therefore there will be a delay in publishing pictures and publications."

The user receives a notification on their phone once a day that their photo has been posted, which is known as "be reel" (German)

For her part, Dominique Rudolph, from the Communications Office of Baden-Württemberg, advised users to think a little about the photos they want to publish on this application.

The company developing the application allows people to use it from the age of 13, and Rudolph indicated that it is not verified whether the age data is correct or not after registration, and therefore parents and guardians must follow their children when using the application.

Rudolph advised parents at first to try the application themselves, after which a profile is created with the child, and older children should be talked about the potential risks of the application.

It is logical that the sharing of “Be Real” posts is limited to friends only, and is not made available to the public, or what is known as Discovery mode.

And Rudolph warned of this situation, as the user does not have any kind of control over the contents that can be viewed when choosing this mode.

Another important point for children and teens is the need to deactivate the geolocation feature, so that the user can prevent others from knowing his location.