As social media has changed over the years, teenagers have been driven to various networking sites, where they can share their everyday lives with followers. From MySpace to Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, new generations have always jumped on the latest social media network. While Instagram, a site for sharing photos and videos, is and has been one of the most used social media networks in today’s world, a new trend is taking hold. The “fake-Instagram” or “Finsta” is ever-so-popular among teenagers. No, the “finsta” is not a new app; instead, it is a separate account created by Instagram users in which they can share a different side of themselves with followers.
“I think it’s a good way to express yourself … there’s a certain level of expression that you can have on a finsta; on a closed account,” senior Graham Weinshenk said.
Many teens feel as though their “finstagram” is a place where they can share more intimate aspects of their lives. For one, most finstas are private accounts, where one must request access to the account before being allowed to see that user’s feed. This sense of intimacy and privacy usually comes from the limited follower count most finsta accounts have, as users tend to limit their followers to a select number of individuals.
“I only let my closest friends follow my finsta because I use it as a way to talk about my more private life,” junior Rebecca Joskow said.
With fewer followers, who are usually close friends, users can post photos and videos that they may not post on their real Instagram, or “rinsta.” Many teenagers feel as though the content they put up on their finsta is more personal and true to themselves than that on their regular Instagram. Unlike the content of a regular instagram, which is seemingly posed and usually only has “Instagram-worthy” photos, the content of a finsta tends to be much more laidback and casual.
“I’d say I worry about [my finsta] less. I don’t worry about how many likes I get or how often I post, unlike my actual Instagram,” senior Carly Grand said.
People tend to post much more frequently on their finsta as compared to their regular Instagram because there is less pressure to post high-quality photos. Many teenagers do not worry about how often they post, again, because their followers are limited to a select group of close friends who may not care about the number of posts.
“I post generally one to three times a day on [my] finsta and once a week to once every other week on my actual Instagram,” Weinshenk said.
Captions can often describe with more specificity the photo or video that one posts on social media. On a finsta, some people write long and detailed captions while others write captions that are short and vague.
“Sometimes [my captions] are long and I go on a rant about something … but other times they’re short little things that will remind me of what happened,” Grand said.
As with any form of social media, the content one puts out on his or her account can be accessed by anyone and everyone, even if it is on a private account. Once someone puts something out on the Internet, it is there forever. So while a finsta can be a fun place to share a more personal side of one’s life, it is always important to monitor what kind of content one posts.
“There’s an expectation with social media … that anything you post anywhere, regardless of whether it’s private or public, is shared with everyone,” Weinshenk said.
Of course, parents can also be huge critics of social media, especially the security side of it. Thus, some teens opt not to tell their parents about their social media accounts, while others do.
“My parents do know about my finsta, but I don’t let them follow me,” Joskow said.
Regardless of who knows about one’s finsta or who follows one’s finsta, it is clear that finstas are increasingly popular among teenagers today. It is safe to say that the “finsta” is here to stay–that is, until the next social media trend takes its place.
