CULTURE Stay woke.
WHY I TRADED IN MY “FINSTA” FOR A GOOD OLD FASHIONED JOURNAL By: Nicole Cier It’s 2018 and nobody keeps a diary anymore -- at least, not in the traditional way. We each have a “finsta,” a “fake” Instagram account that exists without the rules, etiquette and limitations that society usually employs with social media. But this is not news. The concept of a more private, alternate account in addition to one’s main Instagram has been in action for years now. Think of it as a combination of both a blooper reel and a digital diary. On our “real” accounts, we post filtered, perfect images that convey the perfect life. On our “fake” accounts, we post anything else that doesn’t fit the standards of the typical Instagram post. This includes unedited or imperfect photos (think “the ones that didn’t make it to the ‘Gram”), long and personal captions, funny memes and anything else our hearts desire. What started as an outlet to post funny photos privately became what the kids of our generation considered a safe space to share our innermost thoughts and feelings, go on the occasional emotional rant and connect with peers on a more interpersonal level. It all seemed so exciting, the ability to curate our own little community of carefully selected friends and share things that mattered to us. But as time went on and our posts developed into more personal matters resembling diary entries, the concept of a “finsta” changed -- at least for me. Over the span of a few months, I noticed that I was conforming too much to what I thought my 64 followers would like to see. Everything I posted had to be funny or profound or aesthetically 24
