In April, follow your feed: in recent weeks, the number of users of the BeReal social network has dramatically increased in North America and Europe. Launched in 2020, navigating between skepticism and the excitement of teenagers, this very special platform that relies on spontaneity continues its merry way, but still timidly in Quebec. Early straw fire or late baptism of fire? Decryption with industry experts.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
Founded in France, where it has had great success, BeReal stands out for its mode of operation, which runs counter to Instagram and its licked shots: once a day, users receive a notification inviting them to take vivid, over the next two minutes, a simultaneous double photo (with the phone’s rear and front lenses) of their current activity. The snapshot is then broadcast in a circle of friends or publicly, without modification or filter. The goal: to favor the “authenticity” of the result, without artifice, as a counterweight to the staging of Instagram or TikTok. If the photo is taken later, the deadline is specified in the publication. BeReal is mainly aimed at young people, and for the moment seems particularly popular with students.
To BeReal or not to be?
Knowing a continuous progression, without a bang, the network has mainly developed in France and the United States over the past two years. April turned out to be a veritable Easter blooming month, as app downloads exploded in North America. In Canada, as of April 16, it was placed at the top of the list of social networks having progressed the most (mainly in the AppStore), according to the SimilarWeb statistical tool.
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On the other hand, Quebec seems to be backwards, BeReal having begun to nest there last fall, where it is still “very embryonic”, according to the observation of Nina Duque, lecturer at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) and specialist in adolescent digital practices. In his personal target pool, made up of young people aged 12 to 16, the name of the network was almost unknown. She also says she is wary of download numbers.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NINA DUQUE
Nina Duque, lecturer in the department of social and public communication at UQAM and specialist in social networks for adolescents
“When you start from zero, you always have a big increase. Initial popularity does not mean usage will stabilize. That said, BeReal is interesting and more and more young people will want to see it […] The discoverability of the platforms is done, ironically, by word of mouth. A less interesting application ends up creating a path for itself, ”she nuances.
If I knew what was going to work or not, I would be a millionaire!
Nina Duque, lecturer at UQAM and specialist in adolescent digital practices
Lasting success?
For her part, the consultant in digital communications and social networks Nellie Brière has been having fun with the application for several months, with a group of relatives. To explain its sudden success, she points out that the popularity of networks tends to come in successive waves. “Some groups prove themselves there, then invite their network and their microcommunity, and so on,” she says, also pointing to the context, namely the return of post-pandemic social interactions to the university, since the app is very popular with students.
A wave that will eventually break over the Belle Province?
I think it will gain popularity in Quebec, it becomes an interesting alternative for teenagers. Groups of young people will surely put themselves on BeReal to stay in touch while their parents are not in agreement for them to be on Instagram or Facebook.
Nellie Brière, digital communications and social media consultant
At first glance, we scratch our heads a little on the relevance of the application. By consulting the thread of public photos, we come across snapshots of workstations or greyish streets topped with the faces of strangers. In fact, the application rather offers its full potential when a group of friends embarks and plays the spontaneous photo game, explains Nellie Brière: “When you know the users and you care about them, it’s it gets interesting. »
What qualities can explain its growing success? “Instagram offers very polished, very artificial or commercial images, and young people are fleeing that, notes Mme Duke. BeReal offers an option that is more authentic, which fits with the expectations and practices of young people. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NELLIE BRIÈRE
Nellie Brière, digital communications and social media consultant
Mme Brière claims that it meets a need that only Snapchat more or less filled, seems safer (less risk of being approached by malicious strangers), while emphasizing the innovative side of the synchronicity of interactions. “When you post, your friends post with you, which creates a spontaneous meeting,” she says. Moreover, there is no staging possible. »
Among the flaws, the consultant accuses him of the presence of bugs, while the two experts also brandish the very limited functionalities of the application, where, apart from publishing a photo once a day, few tools are offered. It is also, according to them, a key issue for it to carve out a lasting place for itself in the digital decor. “There is a one-time interest, but in the long term, very little, unless the application develops other capacities, believes Nina Duque. Young people want one-stop-shops, where they are entertained, can have conversations, make discoveries, etc. BeReal went for the young people, with exactly what they want: authenticity. If this popularity translates into integrated and stabilized usage within the youth ecosystem, that’s good for the long haul. But with what it currently offers, it will never dethrone current uses and could remain a simple fad. »
According to Nellie Brière, by developing more tools, the platform could settle permanently on our screens… “until it is copied or bought by a giant, as often”, she says.