![Colin McRaven ('24) prepares to pitch the ball to an Anclote batter during the Varsity pre-season game."I like striking people out, since it's fun. The game against Anclote was pretty easy because they were less talented than our team and [I think] we were better than them in every aspect," Colin McRaven ('24) said.](https://jwmhshoofbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_1538-1200x928.jpg)
Being Real
Students express their thoughts and feelings on the popular social media app BeReal.
Melvi Ballabani (‘25) sits in the stands at the Mitchell football game on Aug. 26th against Gulf where Mitchell won 49-0. BeReal takes a photo using the front of his camera, and the back of his camera to show his surroundings at the game.
September 8, 2022
As students walk down the school hallway notifications can be heard going off everywhere, alerting everyone of the next BeReal. BeReal initially released in 2020 but gained popularity in 2022. The app tries to get people to be more authentic, and unfiltered. Once a day a notification is sent out to users of the app, and they have two minutes to take a photo of what they are doing. The app takes a photo from your front and back camera, capturing your surroundings. You can friend people in your contacts or add people through mutual friends. Cooper Burden (‘26) recently downloaded BeReal.
“[I have added] just a bunch of people I’ve known throughout middle school,” Burden said.
Melvi Ballabani (‘25) also recently downloaded the app, because it is something new that a lot of people are using.
“You can send photos to your friends, it’s just a different thing from Snap,” Ballabani said.
According to Vania Salcedo (‘24) one of the good things about BeReal is how it forces you to be more authentic.
“It’s not as status quo as something like Instagram or Snapchat. It’s more in the moment, even though people wait to post the BeReal, so there’s something cool,” Salcedo said.
Ava Warren (‘25) had used BeReal at one point, but then deleted it after some time had passed.
“I had [BeReal] and then I just kind of forgot about it and didn’t really use it,” Warren said.
The app allows you to get a glimpse into the lives of the people you have friended on the app. When scrolling through the BeReal feed, all the people that you have friended show up once they have posted their BeReal. The app allows you to get a glimpse into the lives of the people you have friended on the app.
“You can see what people are doing, and you don’t have to wait for a response. It also just shows what people do when they’re not at school,” Salcedo said.
People may like BeReal because it has many similarities to other social media apps.
“I think it’s kind of the same as Snapchat. I feel like they’re really similar, and I use Snapchat a lot,” Warren said.
Though the app is popular, some students see some problems that the app could improve on.
“The countdown is annoying, [because] I always take longer than 2 minutes. It’s [also] annoying that I can’t see my face, like I just can’t adjust it,” Ballabani said.
One of the best places Salcedo was able to take the BeReal was at Mitchell’s first football game of the season.
“Actually, the football game from last Friday was cool. But no, I’m not really out a lot, so that was the only cool one I took,” Salcedo said.
The app helps to get people to be more authentic with no ways to edit or add photos to the taken photo. With no follower count on the app, people can just enjoy sharing the pictures with their friends and family on the app.
