Social Media platforms are becoming more and more repetitive to use. It seems that apps are lacking their own unique features to catch users’ attention and gain popularity. Apps tend to copy the latest trends, instead of trying to compete with each other for creativity. Tiktok, Instagram, Snapchat and BeReal are all becoming copycat versions of each other. 

In 2013, Snapchat added the “My Story” feature where users could post their photos for all of their friends to view. 

“Instagram famously copied Snapchat’s signature Stories feature after Snap refused to sell to parent company Facebook,” according to The Washington Post. 

In 2021, TikTok also added a stories feature to their platform. All three apps allow users to post for friends to view within a 24-hour period.

In 2019, Instagram added a feature called “Reels” where users could post a 15-second long video, which is very similar to the 15-second videos on TikTok. 

In my opinion, apps are becoming too similar to one another to the point where I feel like it’s dumb to have all four. I think they need to add new features to make them more interesting and different from one another. Personally, it’s annoying getting the “BeReal” notification and the “TikTok Now” notification when it’s practically the same thing. 

BeReal is the newest form of social media that sends users a notification at a random time during the day to “be real” and post a front and back camera photo of themselves within a two minute time frame. A few months after, BeReal had a major increase in users, TikTok added the “TikTok Now” feature. 

According to The Washington Post, “TikTok Now looks like nearly a clone of BeReal, copying both the dual-camera mode and the idea of prompting everyone to take a snap simultaneously each day.” 

Snapchat recently released a new filter called “Dual Camera” which allows users to take front and back pictures.