美国国家公共电台 NPR--BeReal app is Instagram's next rival for teens

BeReal app is Instagram's next rival for teens

Transcript¹

BeReal asks users to post one candid² unedited photo a day. It can't be "liked" or shared. There are no algorithms or ads. And teens are increasingly choosing a feed that is intentionally³ boring.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some teens are trying a new social media platform. It's called BeReal. The creators say it is a more authentic⁴ experience than, say, Instagram because of what is missing from the usual social media experience. There are no filters, no photo editing, no celebrities⁵ posting perfect photos and, also, no ads. NPR tech reporter Bobby Allyn reports why what's missing matters.

BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE⁶: Marissa Omaque is an 18 year old in the San Francisco Bay area who has had it with Instagram.

MARISSA OMAQUE: For the longest time, I would always compare myself to, like, these influencers. Like, oh, how come, like, I can't be like that, you know? Like, I want to be like that, but I'll never, like, get on the same tier as them. It really does get to, like, a lot of people's brains.

ALLYN: So when Omaque heard about the French app BeReal, she was eager to try it out. Here's how it works. You only post once a day, when prompted. You have just 2 minutes to take a photo. The app snaps a selfie and whatever's in front of you at once, all without filters and unedited.

OMAQUE: When I'm on, BeReal, like, I'm not really expecting like, oh, I'm in Hawaii. I'm with my hot boyfriend. Like, I'm just kind of expecting, like, someone on their couch.

ALLYN: And that's often what it is, the mundane⁷ motions of life - people walking their dog, people staring at a computer, people eating lunch. Omaque's best friend, Khia Reddy, chimes in to say that so much of apps like Instagram and Snapchat feels like a performance, people bragging⁸ about vacations or cool parties or who they're hanging out with. On BeReal, there's less fear of missing out - a FOMO-free zone.

KHIA REDDY: We're not performing anymore. Most of the time, like, most of my BeReals are either me sitting at my desk doing homework or me at work.

ALLYN: That's refreshing⁹ to researchers who study social media's impact on child development. UCLA's Yalda Uhls says apps like Instagram and TikTok, where influencer culture thrives, can harm teens' mental health, with teens constantly comparing themselves to the bodies and styles of professional models.

YALDA UHLS: Social comparison is normal. Like, it's something that every teenager and every person needs to learn to know how to act in the world. But on social media, you know, it's social comparison on steroids.

ALLYN: Uhls says there are obviously plenty of ways to not be real on BeReal. It's social media, after all. But she says an app that pushes people to share photos of what they're really doing and what they really look like is a welcome development.

UHLS: I applaud anything that helps young people understand that a filtered approach to life is not an authentic and healthy approach to life.

ALLYN: Right now if you go to someone's BeReal profile, you can't see who they follow or how many followers¹⁰ they have. The profiles are totally blank - social media without a popularity contest. The app also doesn't have advertising¹¹.

Back in the Bay Area, Reddy wonders how BeReal can stay this way forever since, eventually, the app is going to have to figure out a way to make money. How will the app do that while also staying an intimate, chill place to share photos with friends?

REDDY: If there's, like, a feature where like celebrities start getting on the app, and they're like, oh, you can pay to see this celebrity's BeReal, I'm going to kind of, like, back away, I think, a little bit.

ALLYN: BeReal is trying to be a social media app to give everyone a break from social media apps. Silicon¹² Valley sees it as maybe the next big thing. Already, the same venture capitalists who backed Instagram and Twitter are funding BeReal. Of course, there's another way to take a break from social media. Try logging off.

Bobby Allyn, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF GABRIEL ERNESTO LOPEZ VALDEZ'S "CIELO")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

3 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

4 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

5 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

8 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

9 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

10 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

11 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

12 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。