Layla Wofsy ’19 and Amanda Kaplowitz ’19

That accidental selfie. Last night’s fight with your mom. A failed science test. An amusing meme. All of these may be found on a person’s fake instagram (finsta) account.
These secondary, more private Instagrams serve as a place for people to rant about life’s struggles and post what they find to be funny or embarrassing. Finstas are becoming a staple in the lives of many young Instagrammers, and users have a chance to express another side of themselves.
“I think people act very differently on finstas, [because ‘real’ Instagram accounts] are a lot about followers and likes,” Kylie Cohen ’20 explained. “A finsta displays a more candid version of yourself.”
A person’s main Instagram account usually displays positive aspects of their life, often including pictures of cool or unique highlights that the instagrammer wants to showcase to their followers.
“A scroll through a typical feed is likely to reveal improbable images of just the right artisanal pizza,” Valeriya Safronova wrote in a New York Times article about fake instagrams, “all captured in perfect light and enhanced with various editing tools. The pressure among Instagram’s regular users to present idealized images of themselves has only increased.” These staged and edited posts are common to real Instagram accounts and they often require more time and effort in comparison to pictures posted on finstas.
“[A] finsta is kind of like the real person because they’re just posting anything from their life with no filter, like bad photos of themselves, embarrassing videos, etc,” avid finsta user Julianna Raho ’19 said. “Real Instagram is where everyone actually cares about their appearance and how others perceive them. So much thought goes into an Instagram post, but people post on their finsta with no restriction.”
According to April 2016 data from comScore, a company that measures Internet traffic, almost 60 percent of Instagram users are female, which also leads to more females in general having finstas.
However, this can lead to finstas as often being perceived as more of a ‘girly’ thing that can perpetuate drama amongst teen girls, according to Elle magazine.
“At Staples, more girls have finstas than guys, but I think that is because finstas provide a place to rant or share awkward stories,” Martin Menz ’19 said. “Generally, but not always, girls are more comfortable sharing their struggles and awkward moments with a large group of people than guys are.”
These “struggles and awkward moment” posts tend to lead users to pour out their emotions and stress regarding school-related matters or personal experiences.
“I am definitely guilty of ranting on my finsta, and everyone does it once in awhile,” Raho said. “The finsta community is filled with emotions and people totally try to channel their […] experiences through their finsta so that people can relate to them and show sympathy for them,” she added.
Because many believe that finstas allow users to ironically, portray a truer version of themselves, posts, including rants, may appear malicious or hurtful. This can lead to serious consequences and even administrative involvement.
“It could be somebody taking the liberty of posting a funny picture that they deem is humorous but mocks someone else or just because their name isn’t associated with it they think they have the ability to go on inappropriate, mean spirited rants,” Assistant Principal James Farnen said.
The tendency of users to rant on their accounts could not only get them in trouble with the school, but also with their friends.
“I used to rant a lot about my social situations or if I was in a fight with a friend, but I have stopped,” Molly Gold ’21 said. “I realized it just creates more problems and ultimately causes me to feel worse. Now that I don’t rant about specific people or situations, some of my friendships have gotten a lot less dramatic.”