Why Generation Z is so enthusiastic about “BeReal,” a “non-free social networking service” where “only one photo a day can be posted” and “no modification is allowed”?

The TikTok/Insta Era is Over!

I do use Insta. But now I think it’s ‘BeReal’. At first I was like, “What is this? At first I was like, “What is this? I think it’s a very new social networking service.

A female student at a well-known private university in Tokyo told us this excitedly.

BeReal” is a social networking service that is currently enjoying a boom among Generation Z. The French entrepreneur, Alexis, is the founder of BeReal.

Developed by French entrepreneurs Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau, BeReal is a relatively new social networking application released in 2008. The official BeReal website states that it “does not disclose exact numbers such as the number of registered users,” so the information is from overseas statistics sites, but as of October 2010, it is estimated to have been downloaded more than 53 million times, and its use is spreading in Japan, especially among Generation Z.

The novelty of “BeReal” is that it is not free.

BeReal” has two features not found in other SNSs. First, “BeReal” allows users to specify the time of posting, and second, it limits the content of posts.

First, “BeReal” allows users to specify their posting time through the application. Users can not post at any time they want. When users receive a notification from the app, they are told to take a photo within two minutes. This two-minute time limit is the key. While they are searching for a spot that will “look good” or thinking of a particular pose, they will run out of time.

Another limitation is the number of submissions. You can only post one photo per day. Another important point is that you are not allowed to modify your photos. In this day and age, it is commonplace to post photos on social networking sites after modifying them, whether large or small.

Time-specified, forced unprocessed…is it fun?

The conventional social networking service is to post whatever you want whenever you feel like it, and enjoy looking at the vast number of posts that flow in every second. The “newness” of “BeReal” may seem cramped, but ……. What is the appeal of sharing photos that cannot be manipulated and do not “look good” because the posting time is “specified”? The aforementioned female college student says, “That’s what makes it fun.

Because ‘BeReal’ is unprocessable in the first place, I can post even the crappiest photos. I get notifications when I’m just relaxing at home, and often the only pictures I can take are really insignificant ones, but we all enjoy looking at those ‘accidental’ pictures. Also, since we can take pictures with both the outside and inside cameras at the same time, it’s fun to see where we are and what we are doing in real time.

The “restriction” of not being able to take photos at a specific time and not being able to alter them allows the user to expose a truly “real” image of themselves at any given time, which they say brings an unprecedented level of enjoyment to their photos. While Instagram is the most popular photo-sharing application, it is interesting to see that photos without processing or filters have come full circle to become the new “new” thing.

However, as one might expect, there is some hesitation to share photos with the entire world, and the mainstream in Japan seems to be to limit the scope of public access and share photos among friends. Indeed, in the gallery (a page that is open to the public worldwide without specifying the scope), there are still a lot of foreign postings.

We have written about the newness of “BeReal” and how it is received by the younger generation, but since we are here, a middle-aged reporter of this magazine also tried using the application.

The first thing that caught my attention was the posting time setting. The app sends a notification once a day (24 hours), but it is likely that many people miss the notification. I opened my phone and was surprised to see that the notification came eight hours earlier than usual. I was at work and had no time to look at it. Of course, I was on duty and didn’t have time to look at …….

However, even if you miss the designated time, it doesn’t mean you can’t make a post. I opened the app, the camera started up, and I snapped away. As the college girl commented, the shutters of the outer and inner cameras were released. I took a picture of the desk top without thinking, but I was taken aback by the selfie that was generated from a disastrous angle. Indeed, it was quite refreshing to be able to see myself and my surroundings all at once. A photo of the reporter’s face and a messy room were posted with the message “0 hours late (from the designated time).

The “Memory” page, visible only to the user himself, is like a calendar, allowing the user to look back on his daily posts. It can be used as a simple diary to look back on what you were doing that day.

Just when you thought everyone was competing to look “good,” now unprocessed and unadulterated photos are booming. Considering the excessive image manipulation craze and the troubles associated with it, it may be a good thing that young people are pursuing “realism” in their photos.

That said, the actual enjoyment of “BeReal” is probably limited to students and people who are not restricted by time and place.

However, even if you can’t post frequently, you can view the photos of other users around the world. If you are interested, why don’t you try “BeReal” and see the “real” things from all over the world?