Image Credit: Apptopia Throughout Egypt’s summer season, social media transforms into a highlight reel of flashy outfits, turquoise waters, exciting nightlives, and radiating smiles. Instagram is inundated with filtered, deliberately aesthetic stories. Facebook is full to the brim with new profile pictures to match the summer spirit. It is as if everyone’s life is remarkably exciting. BeReal – this year’s social media craze – reminds people that life is far more mundane than Instagram makes it seem. The premise is simple: BeReal is a photo-sharing app in which every user is sent a randomly timed notification to post a photo of what they are doing at that moment, to post within a two-minute countdown. When that iconic ping arrives, it is a signal for friends to simultaneously update one another on how their day is going. BeReal also allows late posts – beyond the two-minute mark – but, in return, it does not allow late posters to view your friend’s posts until you take your daily picture. The photos are taken directly from the application itself, rendering the user’s camera roll of pre-existing candids obsolete. And unlike Instagram, there are…
