In our modern society filled to the brim with social media addictions, one unique use has been born: the “finsta.” For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a finsta (fake Insta) is a separate Instagram account through which you can post funny updates on your life, embarrassing things that have happened, as many selfies as your heart desires and drunken videos in which you vlog to your fans. Social media can portray an inauthentic representation of a person’s life; finstas exist to shatter this stereotype. There’s no need to worry about posting multiple times per day, formulating a short yet witty caption, or choosing the filter that makes your eyes pop most.One might think that most college students would jump to create a fake Instagram account to join in on this fun. Interestingly, however, finstas are pretty unilaterally used by girls.
Perhaps finsta demographics are female-biased because the standards for the “typical Instagram” aren’t as specific for guys as they are for girls. Generally speaking, guys and girls tend to use social media differently. You can scroll five pictures down on a guy’s Facebook and be staring at his old Justin Bieber swoosh hair and braces, captured by Photobooth pictures that were so crucial to our 2008 prepubescent identity. Boys tend to receive fewer likes on their posts and definitely fewer comments. I mean, really – when was the last time a guy commented on another guy’s Instagram photo “Dayummm you look hot” with a bunch of fire emojis at the end?Girls have claimed the finsta game because it’s an aspect of social media that is rule-less, limitless, and a place where we don’t have to create a perfected and polished image of ourselves to feel validated. Social media brings many collegiates various forms of stress. For example: Snapchat stories that show friends hanging out without you, your Instagram post’s like-to-minute ratio, and the number of damn times people will comment that you look “fire” in your profile picture are capable of causing a rollercoaster of emotions. All of these stressors contribute to the idea of the competitive and exhibitionist identity that has been allocated to women by the media. There is a desire to portray your absolute best physical self online, which I don’t think is inherently negative. However, this phenomenon may explain why so many girls have begun to create finstas for themselves. Finstas are a way to express oneself on social media that isn’t fake, or edited, or made skinnier. It’s simply you. It’s a way in which girls can laugh at themselves during their worst moments and feel comfortable enough to post them anyway. Perhaps the eruption of finstas has actually created a way to use social media in the way it was meant to be used: to connect with people.