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Launched in 2020, the social media app BeReal encourages authenticity by prompting users to post unfiltered front and back camera photos at a particular time, thereby limiting control over their online self-presentation. We interviewed 25 BeReal users, exploring how they understand, perform, and evaluate authenticity given these unique constraints. Our findings reveal that participants resist BeReal\u2019s prompts and encouragements, employing strategies to regain control over their self-presentation. Yet participants simultaneously ascribe to BeReal\u2019s notion of realness, believing posts should appear effortless, branding themselves and others as fake when they ignore BeReal\u2019s prompts. Ultimately, we discuss authenticity as sociotechnical and reflect on the ways in which people\u2019s values around authenticity shift over time.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/14614448241267731","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,15]],"date-time":"2024-08-15T02:52:41Z","timestamp":1723690361000},"page":"6315-6333","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["\u201cIs it time for me to be authentic?\u201d: Understanding, performing, and evaluating authenticity on BeReal"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9628-3428","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annika","family":"Pinch","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Northwestern University, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4261-7725","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Floor","family":"Fiers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Northwestern University, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4172-4534","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeremy","family":"Birnholtz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Northwestern University, USA"}]},{"given":"Justine","family":"Fisher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Northwestern University, USA"}]},{"given":"Brigid","family":"Reilly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Northwestern University, USA"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_5_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/07409710490467589"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2056305120944624"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_4_1","volume-title":"Authentic: The Politics of Ambivalence in a Brand Culture","author":"Banet-Weiser S","year":"2012","unstructured":"Banet-Weiser S (2012) Authentic: The Politics of Ambivalence in a Brand Culture. 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