Her Campus American journalists are free to express opinions. The opinions in this article are not representative of Her Campus American’s opinions as an organization.
The world is constantly in the hands of many. Social media has largely consumed daily lives, and it has the tendency to lead people to believe that everything posted online is true. The reality is that things aren’t always as they seem.
Due to the way the brain works, it feels necessary to base daily activities on social media. Whether it is the clothing items that are worn, the poses in photos or the amount of makeup that is applied, social media does have a heavy influence.
Despite the number of social media platforms available, many social media apps aren’t really as different from one another as they used to be. It is no secret that many social media apps have copied each other. The tactics used are widespread; similar features can be found across a multitude of platforms.
Often, these common features can lead to low self-esteem and a poor evaluation of self-worthiness.
Recently, an app known as BeReal has exploded in popularity. Originally started in 2020, BeReal is centered on showcasing your “real” life, unlike what is shown on other social media sites like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. The app encourages users to share their current happenings, using a 2-minute timer along with the rear and front cameras on their phones to take a picture at a certain time of day.
The app gained rapid popularity this year with a unique approach to social media. There are no likes or filters; instead, users can react to their friends’ posts with special emojis, known as “RealMojis,” to share authentic snapshots.
Another social media app, one more popular than BeReal, is coming under backlash for creating a new feature almost identical to BeReal’s primary posting mechanism. TikTok recently came out with a new feature called TikTok Now, which functions nearly identically to BeReal. According to a statement from TikTok, their aim is to “bring the authenticity [of TikTok] to a whole new creative experience.”
Content on TikTok varies from dancing to lifestyle to news. Known for the viral summer 2022 trend “It’s Corn,” TikTok can be a positive space for light-hearted content. However, there have been plenty of TikTok trends that have also come under scrutiny.
A prime example is the “that girl” trend, which shows millennial women living and maintaining healthy lifestyles. It guides single, millennial girls in daily motivational habits such as exercising, drinking coffee, matcha, water or smoothies, keeping their spaces clean and being very minimal with fashion and makeup. This trend has been critiqued for being unrealistic and unattainable. Similarly, the “clean girl” aesthetic has come under fire for being “racist, classist, texturist and fatphobic.”
BeReal’s unique approach is one that is usually looked over by popular social media companies. However, TikTok has taken note of the new app’s popularity, prompting the release of TikTok Now.
TikTok Now allows the user to snapshot one’s reality in BeReal fashion, with one extra minute than BeReal. The layouts of the two apps are almost identical. In comparing the two apps, it can be seen that the dual camera idea is an up-and-coming feature. Following suit, other apps such as Instagram and Snapchat have also come out with dual-camera features.
As Vice News reported, BeReal is designed to combat jealousy, fear of missing out (FOMO), depression, anxiety and other issues related to social media, but many users still come under a lot of influence to fabricate their posts. This leaves a generation that is known for building their self-esteem based on social media to make unnecessary decisions.
TikTok, on the other hand, is referred to as Gen Z’s Google. The app has its downfalls and has produced many ridiculous conspiracy theories and spread misinformation.
While TikTok and BeReal are notably different from each other, the strategies that social media companies use to maintain popularity need to be authentic and original – rather than stolen from other platforms.