Platformized authenticity on BeReal
a study based on Grounded Theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22456/1807-8583.150251Keywords:
BeReal, authenticity, digital platforms, platformization, grounded theoryAbstract
This article explores the social networking platform BeReal through the lens of Grounded Theory. BeReal, a French platform launched in 2019, is characterized by timed posting windows that prevent editing or the use of filters on publications. In this way, the platform emphasizes spontaneity in user posts. The research question posed by this method is: what is happening here? The different stages of coding outlined by Grounded Theory identify authenticity as the central category around which the emerging theory was formulated. For purposes of theoretical sensitization, the concepts of affordances, platformization, performance, and authenticity were mobilized. The contest “The Realest Person on Earth”, promoted by BeReal during the period under consideration, revealed practices that challenge the initially intended uses of the platform’s features, classifying published moments as: (a) everyday; (b) unlikely; and (c) extraordinary. The study concludes that authenticity on BeReal takes on aspects of unpredictability, spontaneity, intimacy, and vulnerability, thereby distinguishing itself from the forms of authenticity constructed on other platforms, although it also presents contradictions regarding these aspects.
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