Your New Social Media App
Have you ever been lounging around, wondering what your friends were up to but were too embarrassed to randomly text them what’s up? Well, I’ve got the app for you.
Be Real is a photo app that is very similar to Pic Your Moment and One Second a Day – it gives you a notification once a day to post what you are doing at that exact moment. The difference is, everyone with the app gets the notification at the same time. You then have two minutes to post a snap of that moment, and what’s cool is that it takes a picture on the front-facing camera and the back-facing camera simultaneously. The picture also disappears once the next notification pops up.
It’s not the type of social media app that you spend hours on. The posts are limited to your friends (although there is a different discovery feed of random people), as the idea is to “Be Real” by showing whatever you’re doing at that exact moment. Now of course my mother would say, “Well you’re not being real because you’re taking the realness out of the moment by feeling the need to post it on social media instead of just being in the present.” Okay, Milly. Maybe you’re right. But also, it’s indescribably fun to see what your friends are up to at that second.
Me being boring
Me being slightly exciting
Additionally, Be Real breaks down some of the traditional expectations of social media. There is no way to edit the photo, and you can’t upload something from your camera roll as you can do with One Second a Day. This allows for raw moments that are not aimed at getting likes (although there is a like feature) but instead at engaging with your friends to see what they’re doing in real-time.
In all honesty, when I first got the app, I assumed that most of my friends would post themselves constantly having fun and doing exciting things. I was worried that I would feel left out or sad I had a “boring” life. In reality, when I scroll through my feed, all of the posts are similar - the common post is either studying or being in bed relaxing. It was refreshing and relieving to see that my life wasn’t “boring” or sad and that social media apps like Instagram only show the highlight reels of our lives. Be Real shows the everyday monotony that is both comforting and in itself exciting to share with those closest to you.
Other schools have already made Be Real popular across their campuses. Can we also get UChicago to Be Real?
Featured image via
