Finsta: a fake Instagram account created to express one’s insight or feelings regarding the world around him/her and their experiences within

Our generation is constantly in contact: we text, we Tweet, we Snapchat, we post on Facebook. The days of easily losing touch are practically over but at what cost? Each of these outlets (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter) is an opportunity to show our 200+ closest friends what is happening in our lives. With so many eyes on you and easy access to editing, why not make yourself look a little skinnier, plan a few more “candids”, or take another picture with your back facing the camera?

Multiple times a day we find ourselves scrolling through social media feeds only to see smiling laughing faces, unbreakable friendships, and people that seem perfect. Few of us would to dare post about the loneliness we sometimes experience or how shallow many of our friendships really are. Instead, we create this unrealistic and flawless world where everyone is always tan, the party never stops, and we are constantly surrounded by friendly. It seems as if we may have gone so far as to convince ourselves that this is what life is, this is how it should be, and if you cannot make it work than we are simply not good enough. With each intricate aspect of social media weighing down on us, posting a single picture on Instagram or Facebook seems like a day long process, not to mention the work you did before the event planning where, when, and who the picture includes. Thus, the finsta was born.

It begins with a person who is so wonderfully inspired to share his or her experience with the world that they are bursting with the need to do so. The username may describe the theme of the account, a nickname, a motto, you name it and you use it. The account's bio may be a sassy quote, a fun joke or simply “HATERS KEEP OUT” The rules of the game are that there are no rules. Skip the 20 minutes you spend choosing between Claredon and Crema, the mass texts sent out to seek approval of a caption and the 10 different angles at which a picture can be taken.

LeT lOoSe and ExPrEsS yOuRsElF and FrEe YoUrSeLf.

Finsta thrives on the rebellious and satirical energy of daring to use the very things that make us seem perfect to do the opposite. We post ugly selfies, pictures that “didn’t turn out the way we thought”, or pictures of food that taste 100x better than it looks. A finstagram has all of the workings of a regular account but with all of the goofiness and imperfection embedded in each of us that make our personalities so grand. So go ahead and take a picture of your toes with no nail polish or the container of ice cream you just finished, let your finsta flag fly.