Scared or secure: BeReal divides our feelings

"If we are constantly seeing ourselves as content to be consumed by others, this can have harmful impacts psychologically."

A mock up of a BeReal snap

Teenagers feel exposed, adults feel validated. The BeReal generational divide. 

Social media app BeReal pressures teenagers to live impressive, aesthetic lives, at all times of the day.

Yet that's not what people in their twenties are saying: they are comforted knowing everyone is as boring and unkempt as they are.

BeReal, a French app that has taken off in Australia over the past few months, sends a notification to all users at the same time, at a different time every day, with a prompt to take a picture of your surroundings and then yourself within two minutes.

There are loopholes. You can post any time after the two minutes are up but you can't see your friend's BeReals until you've posted. If you retake the photo, perhaps for a better angle, it'll tell your friends this wasn't your first candid shot. 

Evangelia Spyrou, 17, told The Oz: "Honestly, I really do feel like I'm pressured to live a really cool life. For example, I won't post a BeReal if I'm in bed or I'm at school. I only post when I'm actually doing things or am with people".

She added, "There's definitely a pressure to look good".

Evangelia on BeReal.

Ayla Denovan, 16, said the app makes her feel pressure to always be doing something interesting but it's lessened by the fact she only shares her BeReals with friends.

"When it comes through, you want to be outside doing something, not inside, in your bedroom."

She rarely misses a live post but "tries to make it interesting if she is only at home".

Ayla on BeReal.

Teenagers already feel a lot of pressure to "measure up" to others and present themselves in certain ways, and BeReal might reinforce that, Clinical psychologist Dr Rachel Cohen said. 

"It may create a sense of pressure to have to be 'on' all the time in case you have to post in that moment."

 She said BeReal could cause teenagers to start 'curating their real lives'.

"On the one hand, it's meant to be unfiltered, and more real, which could be more positive, but on the other hand, this can add extra pressure to almost start curating your real life, your day-to-day life. Almost trying to filter your real life to fit into this platform without the inbuilt filters and scheduling of other apps," Dr Cohen.

@hannahmorris74

It is what it is #bereal_app

♬ Jeopardy TV Show Theme - Twilight Trio

"If we are constantly seeing ourselves as content to be consumed by others, this can have harmful impacts psychologically."

"That is the harmful process at play with these types of platforms where we start to objectify ourselves and view ourselves as something to be evaluated based on external features rather than on our internal attributes," she said.

For those in their 20s and beyond, BeReal seems to have the "opposite effect".

"Although there can be the pressure to live exciting lives, some say it's validating to know ... that people just go home and sit on the couch," Associate Lecturer in Communication at Deakin Emily Wade said.

"They said when they look at what friends are doing on Instagram, it feels like everyone has a busier social calendar than they do. But BeReal shows us that a lot of the time, we're not doing a lot of things or looking perfect.

"It's confirmation we don't have to endure the belief that people are living much more exciting lives than we are," she said.

@malexander7

Imma just pretend I didnt see thag and take the pic in 30 minutes when im doing something fun #bereal #bereal_app #berealapp

♬ Beat Automotivo Tan Tan Tan Viral - WZ Beat

Macquarie University senior lecturer of media studies Dr Tai Neilson said most young people he speaks to say they aren't really their true selves online, even when they are being candid.

"BeReal is getting them to perform another version of themselves - an instantaneous performance to a public of peers. It sells itself as being 'real' but it's just another performance."

"Now there's pressure to perform at any time," he said.

BeReal is similar to Snapchat in that it's an ephemeral app where images are removed after 24 hours. It's part of a larger shift away from curated social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram where your posts exist forever.

Young people are getting savvier about their digital footprint, Dr Neilson said.