Lately, it seems as though the term "finstagram", or "finsta", for short, has been floating around throughout social media. I began fearing that I was becoming an old lady who could no longer keep up with the new lingo of these darn young'n's, so I did what anyone would do. I looked it up on Urban Dictionary. After reading a few definitions, I discovered what a "finsta" was. More or less, a finstagram is a fake Instagram (fake and Instagram combined, very clever). Apparently, they are nothing new and I'm late on the trend, but in my defense, it seems that practically over night , they have been popping up constantly on my "suggested to follow" page.
So what's the point? Finstagrams can be used to post one's true feelings or goofy and embarrassing pictures. However, most finstagram's that I have come across have a different agenda in mind. Though I have not followed any finsta's, I can get all the information that I need from profile pictures and bios. Most profile pictures are of a blurry figure holding a red solo cup or a close up of a blood shot eye. Most bios contain the words "lit" or "turnt" or "THIS IS MY FINSTA". I ran across one bio from a girl I went to high school with, professing her love for illicit drugs. Most accounts are private and have few followers, since the user selectively chooses who gets to follow. After all, nobody wants a snitch on their account, am I right? These accounts are made to show the party life. They are made to show that crazy night at Kappa Sig that you just can't remember, or if you are in high school, that lit party when Chad's parents went to Seattle for the weekend and his older brother bought alc.
Why? Personally, I do not understand the appeal of having a fake Instagram to show off how high or drunk you were. Why would I want people to see me all drunk and sweaty at a party? It does not make you any more "cool" for posting it online. Drinking and smoking and doing whatever at a party is one thing, but posting it online is another. It does not make you as cool as you think it does.
However, I can not speak for all finsta accounts. Some are for silly selfies and dog pictures, in which case is perfectly acceptable and innocent (and please let me follow you, I love dogs!) As for the party finsta's, to each their own, I suppose. Post whatever you please. I do that on my own Instagram, so everyone else is allowed to as well. I simply don't understand the party finsta appeal, and that is okay.
To conclude, I leave you with this. Perhaps you remember the speech from your parents when they finally let you have a MySpace. What gets posted online, cannot ever truly be taken off, and you can never truly control who sees it. We live in the era of screenshots. One screenshot from your finsta, and anyone can see what you are up to.
Oh, well. What happens on finsta, stays on finsta, right?
Yeah...you can only wish.
