BeReal….Have you heard of it?

Let me share the wisdom I get from having teenage daughters. Because of them, I stay “cool” even if it’s in my own head. So, it turns out, there’s a new app, surprise surprise right…but why do I care? Because this one is different. Watching my girls use this app has given me more joy than I could have every thought an app was capable of, and let me tell you, I thought I found my true love in Tik Tok so that’s saying a lot. Now, I don’t think I’ll be joining BeReal, now, but who’s to say I won’t in the future. So, let’s get to it, here’s what I know about it so far:

It’s an app where a notification goes off at a random time of day and the user must post a picture of themselves and the location they’re in at that moment. For example, it’s Sunday at 11:21am and BeReal sends a notification “It’s time to BeReal” and the user decides if they are going to do it. This gets sent out to everyone at the same time. The timer starts and you can only see other people’s BeReal when you have done one yourself. In addition, if you don’t post right away, BeReal snitches on you and says “Kelly posted 2 hours late.” It’s probably how the app puts pressure on the users to be honest about what they are doing at that moment…You know, Being Real (*of course we have to consider that sometimes people are busy and don’t have their phones on them at all times, so don’t come at me in case I get shade from anyone).

Here’s why I’m in love with it. About a month ago, we were in Oceanside with my dad (my girl’s grandfather) for his 70th birthday. We had just gone to Del Mar to bet on the horses which is one of his favorite things to do. The girls and their 20s something cousin were slightly disappointed that their BeReal didn’t go off while we were at the track. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be caught being real in Del Mar dressed to the nines, betting on horses? Well, BeReal had other plans, and went off when we were back at the condo, shoving our faces with In-and-Out Burger, and getting ready to chill. The notification goes off and they ask my dad to take a picture of them. He’s 70, remember…and not a tech savvy 70, but they showed him how to do it, and he was happy to comply. This is where the real love of BeReal comes in…When my dad took the picture of the girls, the camera took a picture of him. He was totally unsuspecting of course, because he thought he was taking a picture of them. The smile and pure joy on this man’s face as he gleefully took a picture of his granddaughters after such a great day melted me, and it’s captured in time. The girls had a huge laugh, showed him, and he had a laugh and I got to see how my dad sees his granddaughter's being real. 

I could go on about this app, and all the stories about beautiful things I’ve seen, but there's something more here. That is, in addition to capturing moments that are real, it pauses time, and allows you to be still for a minute and watch your own life (and maybe reflect on it), and you also get to see how other people live their lives. And as far as I can tell, (and this may change the minute this article comes out) it appears to only be people you know and invite to see your BeReal so it’s not like you're sharing your location with a rando, you know? The lesson here…Take a moment and look at your life, BeReal for a hot second, and ground yourself in your truth!