The Influence of BeReal and Anti

The Influence of BeReal and Anti-Filter Culture

Last summer, Rebecca was conducting focus groups with college students when something unexpected interrupted the session. At 2:37 PM, nearly every participant’s phone simultaneously buzzed with the same notification. Without hesitation, they all reached for their devices, took quick selfies with the front and back cameras, and returned to the conversation. Confused, Rebecca asked what had just happened. “It’s BeReal time,” one student explained matter-of-factly. “It’s the only app where we actually show what we’re really doing.” The synchronicity of the moment and their casual acceptance of this “authentic” interruption revealed something profound about Gen Z’s evolving relationship with digital self-presentation—a shift that carries significant implications for brands seeking connection with this generation.

Introduction

The meteoric rise of BeReal—from 10,000 daily active users in early 2022 to over 20 million by mid-2023—represents more than just another social media success story. It signals a fundamental countercurrent against the hyperpolished aesthetic that dominated digital culture for over a decade. This shift toward what cultural anthropologists call "calculated authenticity" reflects Gen Z's complex relationship with digital self-presentation, where the deliberate appearance of spontaneity has become more socially valuable than obvious perfection.

Market research firm GWI reports that 71% of Gen Z users express fatigue with "curated" content, while 68% say they've reduced time spent on platforms they perceive as "inauthentic." This sentiment manifests in usage patterns, with BeReal users spending an average of 21 minutes daily on the platform despite its intentionally limited functionality—comparable to time spent on visually rich platforms like Instagram.

As sociologist Dr. Jasmine Harris notes, "BeReal doesn't just represent a new app; it embodies a value system that prioritizes relatable imperfection over aspirational perfection." This value shift creates both challenges and opportunities for brands accustomed to aesthetic control.

1. What BeReal Reveals About Gen Z's Values

BeReal's core mechanics—randomly timed notifications, simultaneous front/back camera activation, and a limited two-minute window for posting—create constraints that force authenticity rather than merely encouraging it. This structure reveals three key values defining Gen Z's evolving relationship with digital spaces.

First, contextual authenticity has replaced decontextualized perfection. Unlike platforms where content exists in isolation, BeReal's dual-camera function ensures that subjects are always situated within their environment. Research from consumer intelligence firm Canvas8 indicates that 82% of Gen Z users believe seeing people's contexts provides a more honest representation than curated single-view images.

Second, temporal authenticity has emerged as a critical value. The platform's randomized notification system disrupts the ability to plan and prepare content, directly challenging what media theorist Nathan Jurgenson calls "documentary vision"—the tendency to experience life through the lens of how it will be presented. The structured spontaneity creates what 76% of users describe as "relief from performance pressure."

Third, communal authenticity has supplanted broadcast authenticity. BeReal's time-limited viewing window and focus on friend networks rather than follower counts shifts emphasis from audience size to connection quality. Ethnographic research from the University of Cambridge found that BeReal users were 3.7 times more likely to describe their primary motivation as "staying connected with friends" rather than "being seen by others."

These values represent a response to what psychology professor Dr. Ethan Kross calls "social media fatigue"—emotional exhaustion resulting from constant digital performance. BeReal's constraints create what users describe as "permission to be boring," addressing the psychological burden of perpetual curation.

2. From Curated to Candid: What This Means for Marketers

The anti-filter sentiment has significant implications for brand communications targeting Gen Z, requiring fundamental reconsideration of visual strategies, voice, and customer relationships.

Visually, brands must navigate what marketing strategist Ana Andjelic calls the "authenticity paradox"—the challenge of appearing unfiltered within inherently filtered commercial communications. Progressive brands have begun addressing this by incorporating deliberately imperfect elements into their visual language. Clothing retailer Aerie's completely unretouched #AerieReal campaign drove 29% sales growth among Gen Z consumers, while skincare brand Glossier's user-generated content strategy featuring unfiltered skin textures generated 3.8x higher engagement than their studio photography.

Voice authenticity requires similar recalibration. Liquid Death's irreverent approach to selling water in tallboy cans achieved 300% year-over-year growth by embracing what founder Mike Cessario calls "honest absurdity" rather than aspirational messaging. Similarly, Duolingo's self-aware TikTok presence featuring their slightly unhinged mascot generated 4.7 million followers by abandoning traditional brand guardrails for genuine personality.

Customer relationships are perhaps most significantly affected by this shift. Research from the Edelman Trust Barometer shows 74% of Gen Z consumers expect brands to acknowledge mistakes and imperfections rather than project flawless performance. When fast-fashion retailer ASOS accidentally shipped orders in packaging labeled "sample," they responded with a genuine acknowledgment of the error that generated 93,000 positive engagements—more than their planned campaign posts.

3. Applying the Ethos of Anti-Perfectionism Across Touchpoints

Translating the anti-filter ethos into comprehensive brand experiences requires systematic integration across multiple dimensions.

Product development processes are evolving to incorporate authenticity as a design principle. Clothing brand Outdoor Voices built its business model around "Doing Things"—an activity-focused approach that prioritizes functional comfort over appearance. Their production process includes "reality testing" where real customers use products in natural environments before finalization, resulting in designs that perform authentically rather than just photograph well.

Customer service approaches have similarly transformed. Pharmacy startup Capsule implemented what they call "human voice protocols" that encourage support staff to respond conversationally rather than from scripts, resulting in 42% higher resolution satisfaction rates. Meanwhile, video platform TikTok's customer service team incorporates platform-native humor into support responses, achieving what internal metrics describe as "issue resolution with personality alignment."

Even physical retail experiences are being reconceived through the anti-perfectionism lens. Beauty retailer Sephora's Studio concept stores feature deliberately unfinished design elements and "in-progress" aesthetics that research indicates resonate particularly strongly with Gen Z shoppers, generating 28% higher visit frequency than their traditional locations.

Conclusion: The Future of Authentic Brand Engagement

As anti-filter sentiment continues evolving, brands face both challenge and opportunity. The demand for authenticity will likely intensify, but paradoxically, deliberate authenticity risks appearing as calculated as the perfectionism it replaces. The most successful brands will navigate this tension by building what consumer psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos calls "authenticity infrastructure"—systems and processes that enable genuine expression rather than simply communicating authenticity as a message.

The anti-filter movement suggests a future where authenticity functions less as a marketing strategy and more as an operational philosophy—shifting from how brands present themselves to how they fundamentally operate. As Gen Z's purchasing power increases, this approach will likely spread from digital communications to product development, customer service, and organizational culture.

Call to Action

For brands seeking to meaningfully engage with Gen Z's anti-filter values:

• Audit your visual language for authenticity barriers—identify where perfectionism might be undermining credibility.
• Develop internal authenticity guidelines that distinguish between strategic vulnerability and performance risks.
• Create response protocols for mistakes that prioritize acknowledging imperfection over projecting flawlessness.
• Integrate anti-perfectionism principles into product development processes through reality testing and functionality focus.
• Establish measurement frameworks that value authentic engagement over idealized performance metrics.

The future belongs to brands willing to embrace the beautiful imperfection of reality—not just in their communications, but in their fundamental approach to value creation.