In the 21st century, teens are bombarded with social media options. Now more than ever, no one wants a new app to fill up their home screen, but BeReal is worth it. 

BeReal is a new social media app that was created with a clear purpose in mind. As said in the name, BeReal focuses on limiting the falsehoods and negativity of social media. The app uses its unique structure to achieve this. 

BeReal sends a notification to the user once a day at a random time, instructing them to take a “BeReal” (a photo taken with both the front and back camera). The user has two minutes to take the picture after the notification, or can post a late BeReal. The timer on the photo limits the users ability to edit their surroundings, and this aids the app in maintaining a genuine atmosphere. 

“I think it’s a good way to get off of sugar coated social media,” Alexandra Dyrda, freshman, said. 

People often associate social media with negativity, hate, and competition to achieve more likes. But not only does BeReal stay real, it also eliminates the usual judgment. Users can only react to others’ posts by sending a positive emoji, like a smiley face or lightning bolt. 

“I can post whatever I want and nobody’s gonna say anything. So there’s no competition for anything,” Luciya Kojenova, junior, said. “It’s just really nice.”

BeReal also eliminates the addicting factors of social media. The users do not spend all of their freetime scrolling through the bottomless feed. In fact, after viewing friends’ images, there is not much else to do. 

BeReal stays true to its purpose: to give users glimpses at their friends’ lives without being too invasive and fake. BeReal impacts its users in a positive light, and it connects people and helps us learn what makes us each unique. This is the true purpose of social media, and it truly is worth downloading.