The Avon Echo

By Eva Pearson | Reporter

“Did the BeReal go off?” is the question almost every student who partakes in the popular timed picture app asks around… almost any time of the day. The question that is being raised is “is it really worth it to take a random selfie for your friends to see every day?”

Even in its name, BeReal, an app that started in 2020 but recently has been gaining more popularity, focuses on sending a notification to your phone for you to take a photo in under two minutes with both your front facing camera and back facing camera. This feature allows either you friends or the general public to see how you are quite literally “being real.” Junior Jack Feeney describes the app as “very creative.”

“BeReal is a fun way to share your current whereabouts on social media,” Feeney said.

Feeney also said that there can be more to be improved on in the app, suggesting that a type of reward system could be added to attract more users and convey more popularity to the app. These rewards include special filters and reaction stickers.

“For example, posting for five days in a row on time would unlock stickers and captions… 10 days in a row on time would unlock filters on the app and so on,” Feeney said.

Not only does Feeney agree that more could be added to the app, but he has a funny story about BeReal as well. It includes Western Day and the Symphony Orchestra.

“My friend Adele was pretty dressed up for Western Day,” Feeney said. “It was during homecoming spirit week and to say the least she was looking very western.”

Claire Hay, a sophomore, also agrees that she had a funny BeReal story that encapsulated the true essence of “being real and in the moment.” What gives the picture its appeal is Avon High School’s very own choir teacher.

“I had the choir teacher Mrs. Trigg take my BeReal on time and she didn’t realize that it was a BeReal so her face was completely off,” Hay said. “She said that was the last time she would take BeReals…but she still takes them.”

Overall, BeReal is about not only about the BeReals that you take, but it also includes your friends and how you react to their BeReals. Comments and reaction bubbles are both ways you can interact with your friends’ posts.

“I personally love the reaction bubbles since the app is surrounding around being real,” Hay said.