Blog Post #4 - BeReal-Jake Rybak

Hello everyone,

In my blog post for this week, I thought it could be important to talk about the social media app that has been continuously rising in popularity known as "BeReal". As all of you know, this app is designed for friends to share double-sided photos of whatever they are doing at that very moment when they receive their daily BeReal notification. One of the main differences between this app and others is that BeReal tends to be seen by only the friends of an individual rather than hundreds of other followers that may be recognized but may not be considered friends. This can be related back to the Dunbar Number as it reflects a smaller social circle or brain that is more plausible than other apps such as Instagram where followers consist of a wide range of people. BeReal allows you to share information with your close-knit group of friends as opposed to oversharing with people who do not need to know information about you. The culture of most social media platforms allows for consumers to value the most reach and followers however, BeReal is designed towards sharing the most authentic experiences through technology which is something that is not that common in today's society anymore. 



Comments

  1. Ashley PirilloNovember 8, 2022 at 10:29 AM

    Hey Jake,

    BeReal seems to be referenced consistently throughout this course and rightfully so as it aligns nicely with numerous key concepts discussed in class. I talked about this in my post but with Instagram, I feel like I used to worry a lot about how many followers I had and I think this was something that crossed my mind often because it is visible to others. With BeReal, there is no number publicized for people to see, your list of friends remains hidden. Comparing BeReal with Instagram, I definitely worry about my appearance and popularity whereas with BeReal, I have more comfort in knowing exactly who is seeing my pictures, that being the people close to me. I think many choose their BeReal friends carefully given it is more of a vulnerable platform. Even though BeReal has been designed to share authentic experiences, there still remains ways for an individual to be inauthentic on the platform and we see this when people wait to post until they are doing something cooler.

    Great post! The image you added at the end of your post was a nice touch as I felt that I continue to focus on the similarities and differences between those two social media applications specifically.

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  2. Lucca MaggioloNovember 8, 2022 at 5:37 PM

    Hi Jake,

    Very interesting post! I can agree that BeReal is definitely different when compared to other social media platforms such as Instagram. With Instagram, I feel as if I have to obtain a great number of followers or accept people I do not know to boost my follower count. Even the material most individuals post is filtered or edited in some type of way due to the anxiety presence that users have on this platform. Although, when it comes to BeReal I have about 20 people who I consider my close friends and friends due to how the app is designed creating a more intimate feel.

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