On our drive out to Mission Tejas last Friday, one of our teens presented their case for being able to download and use the BeReal app. After talking about how it works, and why this teen wants to use it, we decided to give it a week-long trial as a family before making any judgements or decisions.
So the four of us with phones downloaded the app on the way to the race, and began our BeReal journey.
Honestly, I like the mission of the app. I like that when you take your BeReal for the day, the app turns on both sides of your phone camera at once—you’re simultaneously taking a selfie and a shot of whatever’s in front of you. I like that the amount of time spent on the app is limited to essentially one interaction per day.
While I can see how this could be super fun to keep up with people that you don’t see all the time—little glimpses into loved ones’ lives—I am noticing that for our small circle of four, the pictures are a tad bit repetitive. The random notification to “BeReal” goes off at the same time for all of us, and so if we’re all hanging in the same proximity (which happens with housemates) the pictures are various views of the same room.
I’m also noticing that if you want to post within the spirit of the app, spontaneity is important—which means that you have to have your phone with you, and your notifications turned on to respond in “real time.”
So far, my BeReal posts are only captured during moments when I’m already on my phone.
If the BeReal notification for the day goes off during a trail run, the *ideal* is that I hear the notification, take the BeReal, and let my network in on this genuine moment in my day. These moments may be during mundane activities like a Costco run, or during a more novel event, like when I’m helping my daughters style their Halloween costumes.
But due to my phone preferences, I won’t ever get a notification during these moments—because I don’t do notifications. I see my texts and BeReal notices when I unpack my phone from my hydration vest, not during my run. I use a paper list at Costco, so my phone is silenced inside my purse. And when I’m test spraying purple hair color in the backyard with my girls, chances are my phone is not even within reach.
Which all makes for a pretty boring BeReal feed.
Real? Sure. But after about a week of this kind of post, I’m seeing that I have three choices:
Be Done. Just ditch the app, whether or not my teens decide to keep it.
Turn on my BeReal notifications and un-silence my phone. I could see what happens if I’m prompted at a random time each day to record the moment.
Keep the app, as-is. Even if my daily BeReal is boring, each time that I post—even if it’s “late”—the app lets me see what the others in my network were up to when the notification went off. This may turn into a cool way to keep up with my kids—if they post in the spontaneous spirit the app was designed for.
I’ll let you know what I decide.
In the meantime, I’m finding the images captured by Trail Racing Over Texas’ photographer during last weekend’s 50k race, plenty real enough for me.
Race photos are tough!
Anyone out there feel like running pictures always highlight the flaws in your form, unflattering facial expressions, and parts of your body that you’d rather just crop out?
I’ve noticed that when I’m flipping through a race’s free professional race photos, I most enjoy the pictures where runners are flashing a big smile and a thumbs up to the photog, jumping, or otherwise hamming it up for the camera. To be honest, I’m not thinking about how the post-race photos will turn out while I’m racing.
But maybe I could?
It’s such a small amount of time in an ultra—those moments where you run by the person with the huge lens pointed at you—why not take a few seconds to strike a pose or flash a smile?
I may need to write this personal goal into my next race plan.
Being “real” might just be overrated.