CELINE

FINSTAS: ARE THEY REALLY FAKE?

To those operating outside of Instagram culture, a “finsta” can sound like a nonsense word. Indeed, it is only a recently coined portmanteau of the words “fake” and “Insta,” and its purpose lies in posting pictures that wouldn’t normally be posted on one’s real Instagram (a.k.a. a “rinsta”). Finstas are typically private accounts rather than public, and followers are limited to the user’s closest friends. There are many reasons why a finsta might be created in addition to someone’s real Instagram, such as for posting content deemed too vulgar for their main account, like risque photos, drug use, and underage drinking (Wilcox).

Mar 20, 2021

Home to Curiosity and Perseverance

Finsta posts depicting drug use, with the username blurred for privacy

But even though finstas seem to exist as the “fake” counterpart of people’s main accounts, many finsta-havers admit that their real Instagram is already "kind of fake—like, only pictures of [their] 'best' life” (Forsey). In this era of Photoshop, VSCO girls, and buying followers, many users are well aware of the expectations to always present oneself desirably in their photos and to curate an attractive feed. In this way, the line between one’s fake and real Instagram begin to blur, and further prompts the question of why finstas really gained prominence (other than for sharing NSFW content). I believe finstas to be a place of reprieve in an online climate that continually impresses upon its users to present only their filtered selves.

Two YouTubers filming a video about how to become
a VSCO girl

Looking several decades back, Susan Sontag’s article “In Plato’s Cave,” suggests that “photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at" (3). In relation to Instagram, a platform which is dominated by images, our choice of photos to upload delineate our lives through the lens of what we deem acceptable for others to see. Thus, in choosing to post photographs that are “worth looking at,” we implicitly ascribe value to certain areas of our lives and identity while diminishing the merit of others. This “worth” may not even be what we personally value, but what we believe our followers to value. For example, while I may treasure a quiet night in playing board games, I inherently see that experience as less “Insta-worthy” than a faux-candid of myself in those all too famous lavender gardens. Even though, trying to take staged photos like these have always felt like a poor attempt to convince others of my "natural" beauty.

As a result, I see Sontag’s “worth” as having strong links to social capital—where uploading a posed photo of yourself decked out in designer clothing with your similarly-attired friends or engaging in other “sequences of consumption,” eventually lead to recreating inequality and power structures in the world by reinforcing certain unattainable standards (9).

For instance, Sontag further explicates that “photographers are always imposing standards on their subjects" (6). In the case of Instagram, we often take on the role of both the photographer and the subject. Accordingly, we begin to “enlarge” expectations of our success, appearance, productivity, etc. through the photos we post. We build ourselves up as larger-than-life figures, which are bound to disappoint when not disembodied in a photographic moment. We impose unreasonable standards on ourselves which creates the need to even have finstas at all, in order to simply have a place where those standards are lowered or perhaps non-existent.

A figure sporting Off-White, a luxury "hypebeast" brand

When I reflect on my own experience, I mainly use my rinsta to re-post extracurricular content on my story and I use my finsta to actually make posts. Many of my friends have jokingly accused me of not understanding the difference between the two, because I post “main account”-worthy content on my finsta, and really nothing at all on my main. I attribute this to my subconscious recognition of Sontag’s idea of photos imposing these standards. Not only do I shy away from holding myself up to the unreasonable expectations on my feed, but I do not want a multitude of others to develop false expectations for me either based on the sliver in time depicted in my pictures. I am uninterested in a thousand others imposing their own personal standards and judgements on whether my photo was worth their time, or worth giving a comment or a like, so I avoid most of the anxiety of awaiting others’ reactions by posting to my finsta with less than 80 followers.

Compilation of photos from Terre Bleu lavender farm

References:
Forsey, Caroline. “Finsta leads to felony?” HubSpot, 15 October 2019, blog.hubspot.com. Accessed 19 March 2021.

Russell, Legacy. Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto. London, Brooklyn: Verso, 2020.

Media:
"0531." Instagram, instagram.com. Accessed 19 March 2021.

"the basic VSCO girl transformation.” YouTube, uploaded by Hannah Meloche, 21 June 2019, youtube.com.

My public main account vs my private finsta

Legacy Russell in Glitch Feminism terms the glitched body as “a form of refusal” by purposely subverting social order (15). Thus, I see posting on my main account as a form of acceptance to the norm. For me, finstas are the Instagram equivalent of a glitch: a way to undermine the value-seeking culture that exists on Instagram and to function as a counterculture of resistance to Instagram’s embedded ideals of worth.

And before I forget, as this post will be my last one for a while, don't hesitate to reach out to me at ctsang88@uwo.ca any time. I would love to chat.

Til we meet again,
Celine ❤

Wilcox, Emily. “Finsta leads to felony?” Meridian Daily, 28 November 2017, meridiandaily.net. Accessed 19 March 2021.

Sontag, Susan. "In Plato's Cave." On Photography, Anchor Books, 1990, pp. 3-24.

Chau, Angela. “Terre Bleu Lavender Farm.” Angela Chau, 30 October 2017, angelachauxo.com. Accessed 19 March 2021.

Ast, Natalia. “Terre Bleu Lavender Farm.” Natalia Style, 30 August 2017, nataliastyleblog.com. Accessed 19 March 2021.

“Terre Bleu Lavender Farm Is FINALLY Opening This Weekend.” Curiocity, 28 May 2019, curiocity.com. Accessed 19 March 2021.

Mac, Nancy. “A Weekend at Terre Bleu Lavender Farm.” Nancy Mac, 22 August 2017, naancymaac.ca. Accessed 19 March 2021.

“Luce_hiroshima.” Instagram, instagram.com. Accessed 19 March 2021.

“celine.tsang.” Instagram, instagram.com. Accessed 19 March 2021.

“cecil.tsang.” Instagram, instagram.com. Accessed 19 March 2021.