By Mackenzie Edwards, Online Editor-in-Chief, and Foster Guns, Staff Writer

“It’s time to BeReal!” An exclamation heard all around the stands of the football game, in the dance studio, the bathroom … or even in third period when we aren’t supposed to have our phones.

When the notification arrives, you quickly pull out your phone and turn on your camera, friends eagerly waiting behind you. There’s 30 seconds left until your post is late, so you quickly snap your picture, getting the perfect shot of all your friends.

BeReal, the popular social media app, lets users know at a random time that “It’s time to BeReal”. As soon as the notification goes off, you have two minutes to snap a quick picture with your front and back camera that shows you in your surroundings. And don’t worry if you missed the notification. You can always post late.

BeReal is its own social media platform created in 2020, but has soared in popularity since this spring. It promotes itself as non-toxic and “real” social media, rather than other apps where users tend to only post the pretty stuff. Other platforms, such as Instagram, have been accused of encouraging people to upload edited media that leads to unhealthy standards.

In order to keep its non-toxic environment, BeReal does not promote liking photos; however, friends can still react to your post through “RealMojis.” A RealMoji is a small picture of yourself reacting to the photo that was just taken by your friends. You can also caption a BeReal to clarify what is happening in your photo.

There are new trends with BeReal photos that spice up your feed. One of the trends includes having a stranger take a photo for you without them understanding BeReal takes a photo with the front and back camera simultaneously. This trend often catches people off guard and can make for some pretty funny photos.

Another growing trend is when people take their front photo, then toss their phone in the air in the hopes of having the back camera catch a photo with them in both sides of the photo. People can also take this to a less extreme version and turn their phone around without tossing it in the air.

While having many interesting features and trends, BeReal also keeps you connected to other people. You can still keep in touch with long-distance friends without having to make awkward small talk. 

Hopefully after reading this article, the next time someone shouts “It’s time to BeReal,” you, too, can hop on the trend and BeReal.

Junior Foster Guns can be reached at 24gunsfo54@daretolearn.org.