Written By: Thatiana Smith, Staff Writer
IMAGES: Social media allows for them to be easily shared with the world.
There are hundreds of social media apps that offer a variety of features. They allow the user to post videos, photos, stories, writing, and much more. With all of the different features that certain social media sites have, they can become addicting. Forbes reports that a new study done by Uswitch indicates that, “Americans spent more than an average 1,300 hours on social media.” Forbes also added, “that members of Gen-Z spend a shocking nine hours per day in front of a screen.” These studies show that social media is becoming a permanent part of people’s everyday lives. With such a shocking amount of Americans that spend almost half of their day on social media, there must be a better way to combat the rising social media takeover.
Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau developed a social media app named BeReal. BeReal launched in 2020 but gained most of its popularity in 2022 due to many users of the social media app TikTok promoting it. BeReal is a social media app that allows users to post a photo of themselves and their immediate surroundings once per day.
The app sends out a notification that indicates a two-minute time window to post their pictures. BeReal shows whether the user was late posting, their location when the BeReal was taken, and how many attempts it took to take the BeReal. BeReal only allows the user to delete their post once in order to post another one. The app also doesn’t have filters or editing software which really emphasizes the take on authenticity.
Another popular app that has similar features is Snapchat. Snapchat is an app that allows the user to send images and messages that are only available for a short time before they are inaccessible to the recipient. Snapchat has something called streaks where two users can send an image to each other daily. If the users send their images to each other for a long period, their streak becomes higher. Although the ideas are similar they are not the same. Poly student Zuriah Causey (12), states that “Streaks are kept up by a specific score and if the picture isn’t taken on time you’re in danger of losing your streak. With BeReal there is no consequences if you miss the time limit.” BeReal allows users to be flexible with the time frame while Snapchat streaks do not.
An article written by Trevor Haynes, a research technician in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School expresses that “platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram leverage the very same neural circuitry used by slot machines and cocaine to keep us using their products as much as possible.” The comparison between social media and hard drugs must mean that those platforms are harmful to one’s well-being.
Haynes goes on to explain that every notification someone gets has the potential to be a positive social stimulus and dopamine influx. The brain gets happy when we receive a notification for anything. Haynes closes off the article by stating, “above all, mindful use of the technology is the best tool you have.” Haynes wants the reader and everyone else in the world to not depend on social media to release that positive dopamine. There are other ways to occupy time and that’s what Haynes wants people to know.
Zuriah Causey (12), also explains that “ Sometimes, [she doesn’t] see the notification so [she misses] the time limit on the BeReal but honestly it’s not a burden.” It’s refreshing to see a social media platform that isn’t much of a waste of time to people as they used to be. Some felt pressured to keep up with trends or posts so that their followers don’t get bored. With BeReal, the emphasis on authenticity allows users to feel like they are actual people and not just another number in a data chart. Although the two-minute time limit for a BeReal pressures users to stop what they’re doing and post, the flexibility it offers with being able to post late provides users with a bit of relief.