I'm sure by now we all know what a "finsta" is, whether that's because we have one or all of our friends have one. According to many parents, finstas are a dark evil thing where their kids attempt to hide from them because they have taken over the Facebook and Instagram worlds, but in reality, finstas are just used to poke fun at ourselves and our silly mishaps in a humorous way and express our emotions.

Finstas are not a dark evil with the intention of hiding from parents. My mom follows my finsta and laughs at my stories like the rest of my very few followers, as it is intended to be.

The finsta is a place where people express their feelings through humor and selfies you wouldn't necessarily send to your crush. I think it may be therapeutic for many; I know I've used my fair share of finsta posts to laugh at myself when I dropped my whole plate of nachos on the dining hall table (it was a true travesty) or the time I had to ice skate my way to math lecture because there was a huge sheet of ice after the snow storm last winter.

Finsta could also be a place to laugh at those throwback photos where you can't believe you wore those shoes with that shirt at that 8th birthday party of that person you haven't seen in ages, or it could be the perfect time to caption that once cute photo and turn it into a meme of your own.

The finstas I have seen are a way of expressing yourself and venting about that stupid thing you did yesterday or that test you think you failed. If anything, finstas are a stress relief, especially for college students. They can be a great way to gain support and love from friends who are at different schools in different states.

They bring people together; I have friends from high school that I rarely get to speak with that will drop a comment on a post and I find myself doing the same thing to them. Sometimes, when you are having a bad day, you just want to read an encouraging comment from someone familiar. And a lot of people don't mention this benefit of finstas, but there is always that extra "like" on your "rinsta" picture to make it go from 249 to an even 250 (aiming those numbers really high because, in reality, I'm barely breaking 130 on a good day.)

Finstas are a way of finding yourself, expressing yourself, and being able to laugh at yourself. Of course, there are those who abuse their power of anonymity and enter the dark world of finsta, and unfortunately, this is a common occurrence in the cyber world.

Instagram works with users in attempts to prevent things like bullying or harassment from happening. You can read more about their policies here.

Keep calm and finsta on!