BeReal memes capture the chaotic nature of the anti-Instagram app loved by Gen Z

 Gisselle Hernandez Internet Culture Posted on Jul 19, 2022   Updated on Jul 19, 2022, 8:38 am CDT Former GoPro employee Alexis Barreyat may have founded the BeReal app in 2020, but its recent popularity among Gen Z has propelled the app into meme stardom this week. The app, which markets itself as a sort of antithesis to the picture-perfect Instagram aesthetic, allows users to share a photo once a day to their friends sans editing, scheduling, and filtering. Even more restrictive, users only have two minutes to post a photo, which includes both a snapshot using their front camera and back camera simultaneously. The images are then uploaded to a feed where friends—or the explore page, if public—can judge a poster and their “realness.”  BeReal gained buzz early in the year, with outlets like BuzzFeed and NPR covering the beloved Gen Z app. Currently, the app has been installed more than 7 million times, with downloads increasing about 315% since the beginning of this year. While college kids have been posting incriminating selfies on the platform for several months, it seems the app’s meme opportunity finally revealed itself this week on Twitter.  Some imagined what Drake’s BeReals would look like. Others…
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