Finstas, or fake Instagram accounts, are places to share your thoughts with your closest followers and friends. You may say, “A fake Instagram? That sounds sketchy.” Your parents have always told you to avoid fake accounts. However, these accounts are far from actually being fake or sketchy.

“Well, my finsta is iconic. I’ve had it since 2016, and I haven’t changed my username once. I LOVE posting on it because I think I’m really funny, and I love just posting things I hope will make people smile or cringe because sometimes you just need a good cringe post,” junior Elli Hagan said.

Though it may be a lifestyle for some, many people don’t understand the finsta culture and don’t appreciate the posts clogging up their feeds. All the posts can be annoying and get in the way of the pictures people actually want to see.

“I hate them. The dumb posts fill up my whole feed, and I think they’re just stupid, so I don’t follow them anymore. My fan account, Caleb_stod, is a great account and much better than those other ones. You should definitely follow it,” junior Caleb Stoddard said.

Yes, spamming posts can be annoying, but finstas are great for letting out all your emotions. They can be used to post how you’re feeling, and you can vent if you need someone to talk to.

“The people on my finsta really know me as a person. They get my humor, and I know I can post how I’m feeling and they won’t judge. If I post about being down, they always find a way to make me laugh,” senior Briana Pulliam said.

A finsta can show who someone really is. Many people post their “best lives” on their real Instagram and only show the highs of their life to make it seem like they are perfect. With real Instagram accounts, editing out flaws and putting on a persona tends to happen, even if someone doesn’t truly mean to. Finstas show perfection isn’t the case.

“I would definitely say that my finsta shows more of my real self than my main account. I just post more pictures that I wouldn’t ever post on my main account. I also have these long posts about my day, captions about how I’m feeling or just funny little inside jokes only I understand and no one on my real Instagram would understand,” senior Christian Hall said.

Whether you like them or not, finstas are an easy way to talk to a bunch of your close friends at once! Funny stories, emotional captions and pictures that just don’t quite make the main account can all be posted and appreciated by people that care.