Revealing the Truth Behind Private Accounts
#ThrowbackThursday to the allusive days where the point of social media accounts was to share your videos, pictures and comments with everyone. Today, a new fad is currently sweeping Instagram lovers by storm: finstas, aka “fake Instas”.
Finstas are private accounts where the owner tends to only allow 30 to 100 of their closests friends to follow them and witness their “secret” lives. Finstas provide a way for people to share their exceptionally funny and ugly selfies or share how much fun they had while participating in somewhat controversial activities. Since the owner only lets their closest friends look at their pictures, he or she is hardly concerned about their public persona being tarnished.
While many people do not understand the reasoning behind having a secret account, I believe these accounts actually help society.
Social media tends to be the place where your life looks perfect: cute boyfriend, adventurous vacations to Hawaii, a smile always plastered on your face. Social media breeds insecurity. People look at your camera roll of photos and fill with jealousy or sadness as they compare their lives to yours.
Yet, let’s be real. The amazing and exciting life we portray on Instagram and share with the public is rarely as exciting or ideal as what our lives are really like. Finstas on the other hand, are where you look like a normal high school student: stressed, somewhat sad, and reaching out for comfort. Finstas allow all teenagers to relate.
Not only is it amusing to see hideous pictures of your best friends from third grade, but at times when you’re unbelievably stressed and should be doing your homework, you can distract yourself by looking on people’s finstas and realize that when you feel like the world is crashing down on your shoulders, it’s crashing down on all your friend’s shoulders too.
