As if the trends of social media are already exhausting to follow, a new craze in recent years is for teenagers to create fake Instagram accounts, or ‘finstas.’ For those of you who live under a rock, a finsta is private account that a user creates with a much smaller following compared to their main account, where they can post anything under the sun without getting judged, or so it seems.
On Instagram, or any form of social media for that matter, people curate themselves to showcase their best possible pictures in a seemingly ‘perfect’ way, with a filter and a clever caption, hoping to rake in the likes. Are you really going to post that picture with your friends where you are sporting a monstrous pimple on your forehead to your 1,446 followers? Yeah, didn't think so. Finstas, on the contrary, are very unabridged and there are no limits. If you had an exhausting day and decide to throw on a face mask, share that scary-looking selfie with your finsta followers. Did your professor assign a twelve-page paper with an absolutely unreasonable deadline? Vent to you finsta. Often, your followers will show you some love and support in the comments because they typically are your close friends.
In theory, finstas seem like a fabulous thing: you can share anything that you want to without judgement from others. However, in many instances, these accounts can get out of hand. Many finstas are put to use for the wrong reasons, which lead to others’ feelings being hurt. Some tend to post rants about a person that they cannot stand, and there is no filter on their captions. It does not take much for someone to screenshot their words and send it to the victim of the post. Friendships can be ruined simply from an immature post on a fake Instagram account that you thought was private enough.
Not only are the accounts promoting immature and mean content, but they can come back to haunt you in the future. Many companies and employers do their research on potential employees via social media, to make sure that they are hiring someone that they want to represent their company in a positive way. It will not take much for them to stumble upon a finsta and immediately give your potential job to someone else.
What does this all mean? As much as finstas are a fun way to get a good laugh via social media with some pals, in the long run, it will probably hurt you. So kiss your silly Instagram account goodbye, be productive, and find something else to do.
