BeReal has taken the social media industry by storm, gaining 56 million downloads this year alone. 

Once a day, the app prompts users with a notification telling them they have “2 min left to capture a BeReal.” The user will then have the opportunity to showcase what they are doing in that moment from the perspective of their front and back camera. If they do not post their BeReal in those two minutes, it will be deemed late and state how long after the two minutes the user posted. 

Once the user’s BeReal is posted, they have the ability to see their friend’s BeReals and react and comment.

According to Entpreneur.com, BeReal was founded in January of 2020 by Alexis Barreyat, but attained most of its popularity in 2022. 

The former GoPro employee said he created BeReal “in response to feeling that current social media apps are doing everything else but connecting us with our friends and family.”
BeReal has spread all over Communications High School, so much so it has its own banner in the senior hallways. 

Spanish teacher Courtney Van Arsdale shared her confusion about the app.

“Yesterday in class, my students in third period said to me, ‘Did you do your BeReal?’ and I understood it to be like the B-side of a tape because they accented wrong,” Van Arsdale said. “I was like, ‘What? What’s happening?’”

For freshman Jenna Lynch of Neptune, her favorite part of the app is “the fact that you can’t pose or do anything. It’s to show what you’re actually doing and the reality of it.” 

“I think in the beginning it was [more authentic], but now, especially since it blew up on TikTok, people are like ‘Oh, I’m not doing anything interesting right now I’m gonna wait to take it,’” said freshman Kyla Kidorf of Holmdel.

Kidorf added that BeReal helps her feel more connected to her friends, which aligns with the goal of the app. 

“I like that especially since I go to a different school than most of my friends, I can see what they’re doing and stuff,” Kidorf said.