“Finstagrams”: Fake or Real?

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“Finstagrams”: Fake or Real?

Kathryn Welch, Business Manager


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In high school we all have witnessed a multitude of “fakers” who pretend to be someone or something they aren’t in order to fit the status quo. Maybe you yourself have been susceptible to becoming or at least trying to become something you’re not.

I’d say it’s perfectly normal to experience these things as a teenager. We are at the age where we are expected to know what we want and who we are, but who really knows? Who knows what we like or feel or believe when we are constantly told what standards we have to meet. But how can we meet standards that are always changing?

It seems everywhere you look expectations are forced upon you.  Just take a look at social media. Most teenagers have a phone or device that they utilize to access an online platform . The social media platform, Instagram, has become a popular outlet for teenagers with 500 million daily users. However, these supposedly honest representations of a person’s personal life are often times just “highlight reels” or highly edited photos of inaccuracy.

Despite the common use of Instagram for business and personal benefit, the newest trend teens are partaking in are finstagrams or “fake” Instagrams. These are accounts created for the sole purpose of allowing the account owner to be themselves and post random pictures and/or say things they never would on their main profile account. The very concept of a finstagram is kind of ironic when you think about it. It’s a fake Instagram account but the content users are posting is anything but fake.These accounts generally have very few followers, and that’s because users prefer to only allow select friends access which include those with whom they can be comfortable showing their truest self.

In a world where there seems to be no outlet for anyone to be themselves, I think that finstagrams can be beneficial for youth. Not because it’s a place where people can expose each other, but it’s a place where the pressure of having the best picture with the best caption isn’t an issue. Teens can take a moment to display themselves as they really are or how they truly feel.

So yes, I think finstagrams are good, but I find it sad that we have to have them. Instagram users who partake in creating a finsta are using two accounts. One account is known as their main account where edited perfectly captioned pictures are displayed, and the second account, their “finsta”, is where random pictures, stories, favorite memes, etc. are posted. It’s a great idea, but why do we have to have two accounts for the same person, the same life? How can we live and post one way and then unveil our struggles or funny thoughts on another? It kind of seems like living a double life.

I know that not all people are like this and some people are just as open on their main account as they are on their finsta. The questions I’m trying to evoke though are,” Are we living a double standard life? If finsta’s are supposed to be the fake account, then how is it that people are forced to create another account just to post about the real stuff in their lives?”