Diverse people checking their phones with a sad resemblance
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Unpopular opinion: BeReal is the methadone of social media –

Digital Wellbeing
Dec 08, 2022

    What’s methadone and why is it controversial?

    Methadone is a medication that is used to treat addiction to opioids such as heroin and prescription painkillers. It is a powerful opioid drug that works by binding to the same brain receptors as these other drugs, thus reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings in people who are trying to overcome their addiction. However, because it is itself an opioid, methadone can be habit-forming if not used properly. This creates a parallel between methadone and the drugs it is used to treat, as both can be addictive and both work in similar ways to affect the brain and the body.

    The use of methadone as a treatment for opioid addiction is controversial, as some people believe that it simply replaces one addiction with another. However, when used properly under medical supervision, methadone has been shown to be an effective way to help people overcome their addiction to opioids and improve their quality of life. It is important to note that methadone should only be used as part of a comprehensive treatment plan that includes therapy, support groups, and other interventions.

    What’s BeReal and why is it controversial?

    Another example of a parallel can be seen in the phenomenon of BeReal, a social media app that was created as an alternative to platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. The app was designed to challenge users to capture and share a photo of their daily lives in just two minutes, at a different time each day, in order to create a more genuine and revealing experience. The idea was that by forcing users to post whatever they were doing at that moment, BeReal would be more authentic than other platforms where users can carefully stage and edit their photos.

    However, it has become clear that BeReal is not as authentic as it was marketed to be, as users still post carefully curated content in order to gain likes and followers. As a result, what was once marketed as an authentic platform has now become just another way to commodify users’ lives and share their carefully filtered highlights. In this way, BeReal and methadone share a parallel in that both were intended to solve a problem, but have instead created similar issues of their own.

    What are your thought’s on this matter? Is it worth it to try to get rid of a problem by providing a solution that is identical to the problem? In case of methadone, there are proven advantages. In case of BeReal, we are not so sure.