Instagram has taken the internet by storm and boasts over 500 million users. What used to be a community based around sharing casual pictures with friends and posting mouthwatering photos of food has since deteriorated into a Mecca of social pressures and insecurities.
Keeping up the perfect theme by capturing an artsy picture and adding a beautiful filter has become something like a religion among today's youth; Going on amateur photo shoots with friends has become a regular activity among kids. Capturing the perfect light and angle, combined with the appearance of looking tall, tan and thin, while also attempting to look candid and natural is a common goal among users. After whitening teeth and erasing pimples on FaceTune, the photo is transferred to VSCO for a perfect cocktail blend of filters, saturation, exposure and contrast. Only then, if the photo matches the "theme" and flows with the rest of the uploaded photos, the artificially captured moment will be posted. God forbid a picture doesn't fit in with your theme; it can't be posted and has to go to the graveyard of good pictures that didn't make the cut.
Because of this exhausting process, many teens resort to "finstagram" to post about their everyday life and to keep each other updated on what's going on. This fake Instagram account is a safe place where kids can post "bad" quality pictures with no filters or complicated editing. A main account might have over 400 followers, but the private finstagram will only have a following of 40 close friends."Finsta" is a safe place where numbers don't count. Regular Instagram captions are thought through and often handpicked quotes from Tumblr or Pinterest, or not-so-casual puns. Finstagram captions range from random life updates, to silly stories and even rants.
Nothing matters because it is a personal account with no boundaries or judgments. These accounts are outlets for teens to be themselves and be genuine, where as regular Instagram is an idealized version of the perfect life you seemingly have. Many say that the "Rinsta" or real Instagram, is the way they want to be perceived. These are the pictures that make life seem flawless and fun. Finsta is a filterless way to express that you are human, and life is not always great. Since only close friends are following it, you can talk about what made you upset, or post blurry pictures of yourself not looking your best. Society and media's backwards system has proven to separate idealism and reality. This alternate world has made it so reality and genuineness are called "fake" and plastic, staged expectations are called "real."
