For the current generation, Instagram has become a way to display who you are. A quick scroll through a “typical” Instagram feed will likely show picture-perfect scenery, carefully edited group photos and 45 degree-angle selfies. Most users’ Instagram followers include a variety of people, from family, friends and acquaintances to complete strangers. If the Instagram account is public, the image users project not only to their followers, but to Instagram’s entire user base. Universities and businesses are also quickly becoming interested in their prospective students’ or employees’ presence on Instagram. With all of this in consideration, the pressure is high to keep Instagram feeds appropriate, clean and high-quality—but still envy-inducing.
“When I’m on my Instagram, I always see pretty pictures other people post where they’re doing really cool things, and I feel like I have to put out the same kind of content,” an anonymous junior said. “I always wonder how many likes my picture is going to get or if my filter fits with my feed.”
Life isn’t just selfies, though, and people have quickly tired of attempting to keep up the facade of their social media presences. Weary of the pressure, and in an attempt to get away from the prying eyes of parents, administrators and colleges, many young adults have created a Finstagram (finsta)—a portmanteau of fake and Instagram. Finstas are private accounts under an alias that teens and young adults use as a more intimate online space where they can feel free to post whatever they want.
“I created a finsta because I take a lot of fun pictures that would be inappropriate to post on my rinsta,” said junior Alina Wilkins, whose name has been changed.
Others agree that finstas are a place to post things with more freedom.
“I like being able to let go of any sort of aesthetic that I’ve created for myself [on Instagram],” 2016 Northwood graduate Piper Puckett said. “I don’t have to worry about whether I’m being artsy enough, or the way I worded my caption—if the joke is just witty enough.”
Finstas can also be used as an emotional outlet: something akin to an online diary, where users can rant and write about things that happened during their day.
“I post storytimes about my day, random stuff I find on my camera roll, but really it just depends,” junior Bayan Dadressan said. “If it’s a day where might’ve I failed a test, I’ll come home and I’ll write a 50 word caption talking about how I studied for hours for a test and still got an F.”
As positive as an online outlet for young adults sounds, measurable problems arise when illegal or inappropriate content is posted.
“I find that a lot of times people—especially underaged people and minors—use it as a space to showcase parts of their lifestyle that are either frowned upon publicly or actually illegal,” Puckett said. “What really is private? What isn’t private? Is this actually safe?”
The age old adage that nothing on the internet is truly private is something users have to consider.
“I think that the use of finstas is always something risky, because the people are using them to post content that could negatively impact them if the wrong person—an administrator or a coach or a parent—saw [their posts],” Wilkins said, “People who have finstas may feel like only their followers are seeing the things they post, but you never know who your pictures are going to be shown to and who’s going to screenshot what.”
The legality of posting illegal content to finstas is blurry. According to CNN legal experts, photos, whether they’re posted publicly or obtained in a more discreet manner by the police, must be authenticated—the prosecutors must prove the images are what they seem and have not been altered or staged. However, when the accused admit to posting the materials themselves, authentication isn’t as much of a question.
“Law enforcement and other agencies keep track of [users’ social media]; if there’s a student or a child that may be questionable or potentially has issues, that would be something that they would definitely look at, and if they have those private accounts, we can still find a way in,” student resource officer Spring McNulty said.
If a photo showing illegal activity is posted, even on a private account, there is a chance that the user could get in trouble.
“[Photos] can be used as evidence against the person that posted them,” Mcnulty said.
Even though users are aware of the risks, they continue to post with a certain brashness.
“[I] could get in trouble for underage drinking, smoking dope, posting pictures with [very little] clothing on [and] vulgar language,” an anonymous senior said.
According to the Huffington Post’s Daniel Patterson, finstas “allow teens to celebrate their social improprieties despite articulating or simulating remorse to parents and school officials.”
Yet most don’t see it as a way to deceive, but more as a way to escape the showmanship of social media.
“I don’t think that everything is just us kids trying to get away with this stuff.” Puckett said. “I think that in this day and age young adults are always performing. No matter where you turn, someone is recording, someone is tweeting, someone is putting things on their finsta. You know there’s always an air of spectatorship, so it’s kind of cool how we’ve created this way to narrow down who gets to be a spectator.”
– By Ava Johnson