Nobody Wants to Be Real
BeReal was a respite from Instagram, which has become a way for people my age to mindlessly scroll through an infinite stream of internet memes or bludgeon their own mental health with endless pictures of gorgeous strangers. (Images courtesy of author)
The app, recently acquired by a French video game company, promised something elusive, and arguably impossible: an avenue to be authentic online.
At 9:01 p.m. on Monday, my phone buzzed with a notification: “⚠️Time to BeReal.⚠️ 2 min left to capture a BeReal and see what your friends are up to!” I clicked the notification and snapped a photo, which captured images with my front and back iPhone camera. I was on a street corner, on my way to the grocery store. It was pretty dull.
But BeReal’s premis…
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